Luck is cast for the Oscars and, even with strong rivals, Austin Butler He has a few ballots to win this year with the Best Actor statuette for his character from Elvis in the director’s biopic of the same name Baz Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby). A job that for now has brought the actor nothing but joy.
The one who would begin his career as a Disney boy approximately ten years ago —along with Zendaya, with whom he will coincide in the long-awaited second installment of Dune scheduled for later this year — has become one of the Hollywood stars of the moment thanks to the talent, respect and courage with which he embodies the proclaimed “king of rock and roll” in an ambitious (never better said) film that, among so much narrative hubbub, leaves us wanting to see more of the artist Elvis coming on stage than to the broken toy of the music industry.
Butler’s is another clear example that to succeed you need talent, a bit of luck – or rather, a lot – but also hard work. And it is that to interpret this role Butler himself affirms that they have been three years of his life in which he has basically breathed for this character. Also, in the most literal sense of the word, since she has had to learn breathing techniques, among other things, to be able to give Elvis Presley body and voice.
Look, listen… feel Elvis Presley
While it is true that the issue of loudness in this film is an inescapable fact (since without Elvis’s voice the legend would not exist), the same Dr. Irene Bartlettthe actor’s vocal coach, stated that “the goal was never to create a carbon copy of Elvis’s voice, but help Austin sing the songs that generations of people knew and lovedusing his own unique voice while applying all of Elvis’s idiosyncratic vocal elements.”
“I remove all effects from the voice and think, ‘How does this voice sound natural?’ and I look at what works and what needs to be improved in terms of support, flexibility, resistance… all those things”, explained the doctor. “It’s very easy to be an imitator because what you do is literally copy the sounds, but the problem with that for someone like austin is that it wouldn’t be sustainable“.
There are several technical aspects of the voice that not everyone knows and understands. Summarizing (a lot), we know that the voice originates in the larynx when the air comes into contact with the vocal cords and makes them vibrate. It is at that moment that the sound is produced. Nevertheless, it is a mistake to think of the voice as a phenomenon that is generated in isolation.
Dr. Bartlett, who everyone is talking about thanks to the statements she has recently made to ABC Gold Coast in defense of the actor after the criticism received regarding the sound of his voice, has been commissioned to help Austin create Elvis’ spoken voice, diction and mannerisms. “My report focused on developing Austin’s singing voice technique: developing his vocal stamina to meet the demands of replicating the changing sound, pitch, and timbre of Elvis’ voice over the years. From the beginning, vocal health was a prioritysaid the doctor.
But Butler’s challenge goes beyond the excellent work he has done with the renowned vocal coach. As we said, the voice is not something that is worked on in isolation, it is born and lives in the body, and this is where the importance of the figure of the movement trainer comes into play. Polly Bennettwhich in the words of the actor himself “was a great help to me.”
Butler has had to develop a body that looks, hears, feels and talks like Elvis Presley.. For this reason, the detailed study of the movements of the authentic Elvis, understanding his corporeality on and off stage, has allowed the actor who embodies him to deeply conquer this iconic and unmistakable voice. “I tried to live his life as long as I could. That helped me not to feel like a fraud when I got to the set. I spoke with that voice in my day to day, when he asked for a coffee (…) I wouldn’t face every character this way but with this one I felt it was necessary.”.
the eternal elvis
After his victory in the Golden GlobesMany of the critics pointed out that the actor had become trapped in the character or even accused him of putting that voice to win the attention of voters at award ceremonies, to which he alleged: “I had three years where this role was my only focus in life, so I’m sure there will be parts of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.“. Likewise, the teacher emphasized the genuine connection that was generated between the actor and the character, which is why she ensures that Austin is not faking his voice.
Butler spent a lot of time preparing for this role. The voice sessions with the coach began at the end of 2019 when the entire production process of the film began, let’s not forget that it was interrupted by the pandemic and resumed in the last months of 2020. After all this, there were another ten months of intense work for which the actor, as he says, gave himself fully. “Due to the COVID shutdowns, he was working on his voice all the time,” explained Dr. Bartlett. “And it’s very difficult to turn off something you’ve worked on for such a long time.”.
Regarding the doubts generated, it is very likely that you will not be able to return so easily to your previous way of speaking. Despite the fact that he himself has said that “I don’t think about it. I don’t think I still sound like him. But I guess I have to because I listen to him a lot”, the reality is that Austin ended up assuming his voice change. It is not known how much longer it will last, nor if it could last forever, but we are sure that if he could do it, so can we.
That now it seems to us that Butler has the same voice as Elvis Presley It is the best compliment we can do for his work in this filmnot only because of the musical attribute of being able to sing or simply sound like Elvis Presley – how many we would like – but because it is a clear indicator that as an actor he has known how to put his body, mind, voice and imagination at the service, with surprising mastery. to this character.
An achievement also for the direction of the film since, for an actor or actress to be able to reach this level of depth in the creation of a character, the story must start from a really solid base and from a genuine desire to tell something, in this case the dark truth marked by abuses and excesses, which is behind a legend like Elvis Presley.
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