Austin Butler's singing coach defended him against fans who accused him of continuously speaking using Elvis Presley's voice.
Butler savored praises when he portrayed Presley's role in Baz Luhrmann's biopic, "Elvis." The role recently led him to win the Golden Globes award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. Page Six noted that the actor delivered a heartfelt speech, but it backfired as fans thought he was still using Presley's voice when he was accepting the recognition.
The Disney Channel alum has since broken his silence on the issue, but his singing coach also took a step forward and defended him against the trolls.
In an interview with ABC Gold Coast, Irene Bartlett said the actor worked hard for his role, saying that his voice was actually his "actual voice."
"When you've got an iconic voice like that, it's really difficult," Bartlett said. "It's very easy to be an impersonator, because what you do is literally copy the sounds and the problem with that for someone like Austin is that it would not be sustainable."
While he sounded like the King of Rock and Roll, Bartlett noted she does not know when it would last or if it is going to be there forever. Still, she defended the star and said that his transformation for Presley's voice could have strained him.
Since the late singer's voice was heavily affected by the drugs he took, Bartlett explained, "Elvis" creators had to merge Butler and Presley's voices using original recordings.
Why Austin Butler Still Sounds Like Elvis Presley
Amid the issue, The Conversation released an article titled "Why is Austin Butler still speaking in his Elvis voice? It could be a case of 'role spill,'" in which it explained why Butler sounds the same.
According to the article, actors and actresses who need to learn new accents for a film or series work with a dialect coach for months or years before filming. Referred to as "role spill," the publication explains that it can happen once an actor retains features of accents they use for their character.
For Butler's part, he had his coach but also worked on himself by listening to recordings. He told Jimmy Kimmel that he underwent a two-year preparation to prepare for the role.
At the same time, Butler reportedly had to deal with stresses and fears due to worries about losing the progress he had made so far. He admitted to covering his room with Presley's photographs and studied even the late singer's laugh.
In the end, his fans acknowledged his efforts and applauded his performance in "Elvis."
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