Elvis star Austin Butler reveals the advice he received from Bohemian Rhapsody Oscar-winner Rami Malek. Stylish director Baz Luhrmann brings music legend Elvis Presley back from the dead in his newest over-the-top extravaganza. Relative unknown Butler has the task of playing the King of Rock and Roll from his origins as a humble country boy in Mississippi to his days as a pop-culture-exploding worldwide superstar.

Butler indeed may have been a surprising choice to head up Luhrmann’s Elvis given his relatively thin resume of starring roles. But clearly Luhrmann saw something eminently Elvis-like in Butler, who beat out a field of contenders that at one point included actual modern-day music superstar Harry Styles. And critics seem to believe Luhrmann made the right choice, as they’ve roundly praised Butler’s work embodying the spirit of Presley.

Of course it wasn’t easy for Butler to take on the role of the very famous and still-beloved Elvis in such a high-profile film. Particularly difficult it seems were the performance scenes, which required Butler to give his all in front of real audiences. But when stage fright began to creep in, Butler thankfully could turn to someone who knows all about pretending to be a musical legend in a biopic. Speaking to ET, the Elvis star revealed the helpful advice he got from Bohemian Rhapsody star Malek when it came to dealing with the film's big and elaborate musical performance scenes:

"He said, 'You know what? Those days will probably end up becoming your favorite days. He could not be more right about that... I was terrified every time before going out there... But Elvis said it as well. Those first couple songs, once you do them and you realize OK, nobody's going to throw a rock at me, it's all OK. … Then you feel that connection and you feel how you can play with the audience. There were days I didn't want the day to be over."

Malek of course did such a credible job embodying Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody that he was rewarded with a Best Actor Oscar. It remains to be seen if Butler receives the same accolades when next year's Oscars around, but so far critics have been singling him out for praise in their reviews of Elvis. Lurhmann too has received kudos for his directorial flash, which should be no surprise given his history of making big, splashy, garish movies. On the flip side, some have slammed Elvis for being all style and no substance.

Audiences will of course get a chance to decide for themselves if they approve of Luhrmann’s Elvis when the movie hits theaters later in June. The film obviously has a high bar to get over if it wants to approach the box office of Bohemian Rhapsody, which took in $900 million worldwide. If Elvis doesn’t get the job done in theaters, it likely won’t be the fault of Butler, who seems to have given his all in bringing Presley to life. And it seems that Butler has Bohemian Rhapsody’s Malek to thank, at least in part, for helping him get over his musical biopic performance anxiety on the set.

Elvis (2022)
Release Date: Jun 24, 2022