Austin Butler may prefer a little less conversation about his Elvis accent, but fans aren't done talking about it yet.
The actor, who recently picked up an Oscar nomination for his role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's film, is responding to the continuing buzz over his lingering accent.
"It's funny to me because I don't even think about it," he said about the attention around his accent in a Los Angeles Times interview published Jan. 24. "I guess after three years of doing everything that I could to focus on this one goal of trying to bring life to Elvis in this film, I think that there's certain muscular habits that must pop up. If I was trying to sound like Elvis, I would sound very different right now."
Still, Butler doesn't take all the chatter too seriously.
"I think it's sort of amusing to me how much people want to focus on this one thing," he continued. "But I've had friends who've gone and lived in other countries and they come back and they have a French accent or an Italian accent or something like that, or where they've gone and lived in the South for a while and they've come back. It's funny how we have these muscular habits that will pop up in ways that we don't expect."
Butler's voice has been a topic of discussion on social media since the film's 2022 release, most recently after giving an acceptance speech when picking up his Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama).
"So especially at the Globes, the first time I'm ever accepting a major award," he added in the interview, "and if bits of the accent popped up, I mean, what timing."
Although, the 31-year-old doesn't seem to hear the similarities as much as others still do.
"I don't think I sound like him still," he said backstage in the Golden Globes press room, "but I guess I must because I hear it a lot."
To be fair, Butler did put a lot of work into channeling Presley for the role, adding, "I'm sure that there's just pieces of my DNA that'll always be linked in that way."
And his singing coach can attest to the effort he put into channeling the King of Rock 'n' Roll. "I feel sorry people are saying that, you know, it's still acting [but] he's actually taken [the voice] on board," Dr. Irene Bartlett told ABC Gold Coast earlier this month. "I don't know how long that will last, or if it's going to be there forever."
Another person to react to Butler's voice? Vanessa Hudgens, who dated the Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood alum for almost a decade before news of their split broke in early 2020. After a social media user reshared a post about Butler's singing coach calling his voice "genuine" and one that might remain forever, the actress replied in the comments, "Crying."
Actually, Butler confirmed to The Los Angeles Times that Hudgens was the "friend" he'd previously referenced who'd encouraged him to play Presley after hearing him sing in the car, adding, "I owe her a lot for believing in me."
And who knows what Butler's voice could sound like in the future? "I know that I'm constantly changing," he told ELLE Australia in June. "Check in with me in 20 years when I've played a lot of roles, who knows what I'll sound like!"