Austin Butler credits the most important person he lost years ago - his mother Lori - for inspiring his acting career.
Nearly 10 years since Butler's mother died of cancer, the actor - who notably portrayed Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's "Elvis" - spoke about how the late matriarch would feel about his skyrocketing career and success.
The Golden Globe-winning actor sat for an interview with Willie Geist on "Sunday TODAY" in which he detailed his relationship with Lori. An exclusive clip of the discussion has been shared by Billboard.
The 31-year-old held back his tears as he thought how proud his mother would have felt if she was still alive.
"She sacrificed so much. She quit her job to drive me to auditions and drive me to acting classes," he said. "She'd wait outside and drive all the way back down to Orange County."
Butler added that his mother Lori wanted to be an actress. However, she never did. Despite that, the actor thinks he got his current life for both of them.
As Butler continued his journey, he shared how Lori's benevolent personality influenced him. He shared that his mother was the kindest person who lit up every room she entered. He then expressed his desire to make her proud and have her memories live through him.
The full interview with Butler would be aired on Feb. 19.
Austin Butler Shares Bonding With Lisa Marie Presley Before Her Death
In a separate interview with People at the 95th annual Oscar nominees luncheon, Butler recalled his moments with the late singer-songwriter and shared how they bonded "very, very fast."
"And all those special moments of just getting to share life with her, I'll treasure that forever," he went on, calling her an honest person. "There was no filter of how she felt. And she opened her heart to me very quickly."
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Lisa Marie Presley died in January at the age of 54 a few hours after being hospitalized for a suspected cardiac arrest. She was put on life support with a temporary pacemaker and a medically induced coma.
But hours after she was found unresponsive, Elvis Presley's daughter ultimately died.
There were reports suggesting that Lisa Marie's cause of death was broken heart syndrome as she mourned her son's death for years leading to her own demise. However, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office reportedly could not release the official cause of death yet as it is still waiting for the toxicology test results.
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