Austin Butler has described how his body “started shutting down” after he finished playing Elvis Presley in the forthcoming biopic.
The actor stars opposite Tom Hanks in Elvis, Baz Luhrmann’s film about the rock’n’roll singer’s life and career.
In an interview with GQ, Butler described how he wrapped filming in March 2021, only to be diagnosed with a virus that has the same symptoms as appendicitis, leaving him bedridden.
“I woke up at four in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to hospital,” Butler said.
“My body just started shutting down the day after I finished Elvis.”
The trailer for Elvis was released in February, with Butler dividing viewers with his resemblance to the musician.
However, when he appeared at the Met Gala earlier this month, many fans questioned whether Butler was still impersonating Presley due to his changing accent.
Presley’s granddaughter, the actor Riley Keogh, has shared her own verdict on the biopic.
Asked whether she had considered appearing in the film herself, the Zola star said that the subject was “a little too close”.
“It’s intense enough to watch, I don’t want to act in it,” she said. “It was never a conversation. I think there was a boundary there that felt respected in a nice way.”
Elvis is released in cinemas on 24 June.
