Does Austin Butler sing and play guitar in Elvis?

20 June 2022, 15:30

Watch the second trailer for Baz Luhrmann's Elvis

Elvis - the Baz Luhrmann biopic hits cinemas this Friday 24th June - but does Austin Butler do his own singing and guitar playing? Find out here.

Elvis is set to be released this Friday 24th June and it's already getting plenty of attention.

The Baz Luhrmann biopic, which stars Austin Butler as The King and Tom Hanks as his controversial talent manager Colonel Tom Parker, charts the legendary singer's life from childhood to his untimely death.

Butler's depiction of the late icon has already received wide acclaim, but does he sing in his role as Elvis Presley and does he play the guitar?

Find out our answer to this question and more below.

READ MORE - Elvis: Release date, trailers, cast, soundtrack review and what to expect

Does Austin Butler sing in Elvis?

Austin Butler exclusively sings as Elvis when portraying him in his earlier years. However, as director Baz Luhrmann revealed, once Elvis is depicted in his midlife stage in the film Butler's voice is blended with the real-life middle-aged vocal of Elvis so his tone sounds as authentic as possible.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about speaking just like Elvis, Austin explained, “When I began the process, I set out to get my voice to be identical. That instills fear. So that got the fire burning.

“For a year before we started shooting, I was doing voice coaching.”

Does Austin Butler play guitar in Elvis?

Austin Butler has been playing the piano and the guitar since he was 13, which enabled him to fully embody the stage presence of Elvis and play as he played in the film.

Stars and crew attend a special screening of Elvis at BFI Southbank in London

What has Austin Butler said about starring as Elvis in the role?

It seems Austin Butler embodied the spirit of Elvis so much for his role as The King in the biopic, that he almost doesn't know what his own voice sounds like.

“That was the voice I spoke in for two years. It was so habitual,” Butler said. “You get done and you kinda don't remember what your natural voice is.”

Watch his incredible interview with Jimmy Fallon, where he goes through all the many voices of Elvis

Austin Butler Shows Off His Elvis Impressions and Teaches Jimmy an Iconic Dance Move (Extended)

Speaking in an interview with Vogue about embodying the King and the work it took to gain his confidence, Butler said: “I learned that Elvis was very shy as a kid, and he would ask people to turn around when he played the guitar and turn off the lights in the room." He added: "And I thought, that’s how I feel now. But he overcame that. So how can I?"

"When energy is on me, I get shy," he revealed. "But as soon as I poured it out, and I was trying to make this girl laugh and that girl blush, then fear went out the window."

“It was an energetic exchange that was really beautiful. I finally understood the addiction that performers have to being onstage.”

ELVIS is released in cinemas on Friday 24th June 2022.

READ MORE - Does Rami Malek sing in Bohemian Rhapsody?