Austin Butler Tears Up While Reflecting on Lisa Marie Presley: 'I Just Wish She Was Here'

etonline.com:

Austin Butler chokes up over the death of Lisa Marie Presley in an exclusive preview of his  interview, saying he feels «endlessly privileged» to have been a part of her story. «I remember the moment they were first going to watch the film,» Butler tells host Willie Geist in the clip, speaking about the Presley family's first screening of «I'd never been more nervous for anybody to see anything I'd ever done, because they'd never seen anything, they didn't even read the script at that point, and they were very nervous.» Butler adds that he knew the Presley family's opinion «could go either way,» but that Priscilla Presley sent director Baz Luhrmann an email congratulating Butler for his portrayal of her ex-husband. «I just burst into tears, 'cause it was, I felt so much responsibility for them, for their family and for Elvis' legacy,» he says.

Butler didn't meet Lisa Marie, Elvis' daughter, until later, when the team screened the film at Graceland. «When I locked eyes on her, it's really a surreal thing,» he says. «I'd been playing her dad for such a long time, and doing my best to make it as true for me as possible — the relationship, you know, of feeling the love for her through her father.» Butler added that the distinct context of their meeting made for a quick connection. «Because the film resonated for her in that way, now...we're standing in front of each other and we're looking into each other's eyes and I felt so much love for her through him in that whole process.

I've never felt closer to someone quicker than I felt with her.» Lisa Marie died on Jan. 12 after going into full cardiac arrest at her home in Calabasas, California.