Austin Butler Reflects on ‘Elvis’ Journey, How He Learned to Embrace Auditions and Early Acting Years: ‘I Was Cripplingly Shy’

variety.com:

In November, Austin Butler was in Cincinnati on the set of Jeff Nichols’ film, “The Bikeriders.” He was shooting a scene with co-stars Tom Hardy and Michael Shannon that involved Shannon delivering a two-page monologue.

Butler found himself lost in the moment, watching his fellow actor. “Jeff called cut and Mike walks away,” Butler recalls. “And Tom turns to me goes, ‘It doesn’t get any better than that.’” Butler says Hardy was referencing Shannon’s performance, which he says, “wasn’t even watching an actor, it was watching a human being living in front of you.”  The 31-year-old actor could also be referring to the past year of his life, which found his career launched from roles in shows including “Zoey 101” and “The Carrie Diaries” into a bona-fide, world-famous movie star thanks to his turn in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.” And not just any movie star, but the kind of old-school throwback to a Golden Age that is becoming rarer and rarer in Hollywood where his talent is as recognized as his star quality.  “I got to be honest, I just feel so fortunate,” Butler says of the whirlwind months since “Elvis” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a rapturous response in May before hitting theaters in June when it took in close to $300 million at the box office.

If there was any doubt of the love for the film and his performance, industry screenings and events are still packed full despite the film being available on HBO Max and other platforms.

Since then, Butler has won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award, been nominated for both a SAG Award and an Oscar, hosted the Christmas episode of “Saturday Night Live” and filmed a role in the hotly anticipated “Dune: Part Two.”  By now, Butler’s story of landing the life-changing role of