Austin Butler says he didn't see his family for three years during method acting for this role
Austin Butler has revealed the extreme lengths he went to during the filming of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis, admitting he didn't see his family for three years.
"During Elvis, I didn't see my family for about three years," the actor told Variety. "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."
Austin went on to reveal that when he did speak with his loved ones, he was still caught up in his character. "When I did, the only thing I was ever thinking about was Elvis," he said. "I was speaking in his voice the whole time."
As for how method acting impacted him, Austin added: "You can lose touch with who you actually are. And I definitely had that when I finished Elvis — not knowing who I was."
"During #Elvis, I didn't see my family for about three years," Austin Butler tells Janelle Monáe. "I had months where I wouldn't talk to anybody, and when I did, the only thing I was ever thinking about was Elvis." https://t.co/wNhSd0YD6e pic.twitter.com/YeC1hELObB
— Variety (@Variety) December 11, 2022
But, the 31-year-old isn't the only actor to open up about method acting. Recently, Evan Peters discussed how he prepared for his titular role as Jeffrey Dahmer, whilst Euphoria's Maude Apatow claimed to have pulled her own tooth out to secure a role.
In light of Austin's admission, film fans took to social media to comment on the pros and cons of the controversial acting technique. "Method acting has done irreversible damage to Hollywood actors," one person tweeted, as someone else said: "Method acting isn’t impressive. True acting is being able to ACT like someone else, not turn into someone else."
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