Austin Butler has admitted that Tom Hanks was apparently a little worried about him after they worked together on the recent Elvis biopic.
The pair played Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker respectively in Baz Luhrmann’s latest film, for which Austin was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and Bafta.
However, when production was complete, it seems that Tom had some concerns about what Austin would do next, which led to them collaborating on a second project.
Speaking to The Times for an interview published over the weekend, the former Carrie Diaries actor shared: “[Tom Hanks] said, ’You have immersed yourself so deeply in Elvis that, for your mental health, it would be wise to go straight into something else.
“If you just jump off the train, you might have emotional whiplash… And, you know, I’ve got this thing I’m producing’.”
The “thing” in question is the Apple TV+ project Masters Of The Air, co-produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg and featuring Barry Keoghan, Callum Long, Raff Law and Ncuti Gatwa among its expansive cast.
While promoting Elvis, Austin was very candid about how immersively he approached the role, with many fans pointing out that he was still speaking in a voice that resembled the late rock star’s during awards season.
He claimed at the time: “I don’t think I sound like [Elvis] still, but I guess I must ’cause I hear it a lot. I had three years where that was my only focus in life, so I’m sure that there’s just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way.”
Offering a potential explanation, the actor later told Graham Norton: “I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing. One song took 40 takes!”