Austin Butler's Three-Year Family Absence for 'Elvis' Divides Fans Online

Austin Butler has become a talking point on Twitter after saying that he did not see his family for about three years while preparing to portray Elvis Presley in the Baz Luhrmann biopic.

Elvis explores the life of the iconic "King of Rock 'n' Roll" and his meteoric rise to fame, as well as his fraught relationship with his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The movie has been met with critical and commercial success—and praise from Presley's family—since its summer release, and Butler has revealed how much dedication went into playing the part, which he landed in 2019.

"During Elvis, I didn't see my family for about three years," Butler, 31, told Janelle Monáe as part of Variety's Actors on Actors series. "Because I was off in New York prepping with Baz, and then I went to Australia.

"I had months where I wouldn't talk to anybody, and when I did, the only thing I was ever thinking about was Elvis. I was speaking in his voice the whole time," he said.

A clip of the interview was shared on Variety's Twitter account, where it got a strong reaction from some users, many of whom suggested that Butler's efforts perhaps went a step too far.

Comedian Andrew Michaan responded to the video with a tongue-in-cheek comment, saying that watching Elvis also altered the course of his life.

"I sympathize with this," Michaan wrote. "I have not seen my family since I watched Elvis and don't plan on speaking to them for years. The movie was so crazy and edited in such a jarring way that it broke my brain and I simply don't identify in any way with the person I used to be."

Another Twitter user said: "I refuse to believe that playing Elvis required this level of commitment & thought."

That sentiment appeared to be echoed by journalist Louis Peitzman, who wrote in a tweet that has since gone viral: "Is it that serious."

Another Twitter user went so far as to question whether acting was the right career for Butler if he felt the need to go to such lengths to play a role.

"[It's] weird how actors always think [it's] a badge of honor to work so hard to inhabit a character," the user tweeted. "Hey man you're a professional actor, it should be a lot easier for you to act. Maybe this isn't the right career for you."

Noting the derision that Succession star Jeremy Strong has encountered over his commitment to Method acting, another Twitter user said: "Everyone needs to apologize to Jeremy Strong right now."

Meanwhile, the California-born Butler's gravelly voice and apparent Southern accent during the interview also caught viewers' attention, sparking a mixture of criticism and adoration on Twitter.

"This is what Austin Butler sounds like," wrote one Twitter user, who shared a clip from Arrested Development that featured Will Arnett's character George Oscar Bluth II reading a restaurant menu, much to the delight of Liza Minnelli's Lucille Austero.

Amid the criticisms of Butler still using the voice he developed for his portrayal of Presley, some fans defended him, including one who wrote: "I'm sorry but I need Austin butler to keep doing that fake accent. I know y'all tired of it but #tome it makes him sexier."

Elvis follows Presley from the time Parker discovered him in 1955 through his ascent to global stardom and also depicts the many personal demons the singer struggled with and Parker's oppressive control over him. The film features a stellar soundtrack that includes some of Presley's countless hits.

Showing his further dedication to the role, Butler sings in Elvis. His voice is used exclusively in scenes depicting the young singer, while his vocals were mixed with Presley's singing for his Las Vegas performances in his later years.

As part of his audition, Butler sang his rendition of Presley's "Unchained Melody." He practiced relentlessly for months to make sure both his singing and his accent matched Presley's.

Butler also spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the intense work he put into the role. "I knew that the singing aspect of [the role] was going to be something I really wanted to give everything I had to," he said.

"I sang every day [while preparing and filming] and would do my singing exercises first thing in the morning. It is really like a muscle," he continued.

"Through filming, I started noticing notes that I couldn't hit in the beginning. Suddenly, now I could hit those notes. I was widening my range. But it's not just singing—you're having to find vocal mannerisms. That could be a little tricky," Butler said.