Hollywood star Austin Butler doesn't think he sounds like Elvis.
But it seems the King of Rock and Roll's drawl has been hard for the actor to shake.
Plenty of critics have accused Butler of "putting it on", but one of the vocal specialists who worked with him on the film, Griffith University Associate Professor Irene Bartlett, said there were reasons why the distinctive voice was still with him.
What does Austin Butler sound like now?
Well, if you're not familiar with his voice, Austin Butler sounds a bit like Elvis.
Butler took on the character for Baz Luhrmann's Australian-filmed biopic, Elvis.
And he nailed it. Butler won a Golden Globe for best actor for his performance last week.
Filming might have wrapped more than a year ago, but the similarities between Butler's speaking voice and the one he used in the film were highlighted in his acceptance speech.
His voice was so distinctive, reporters asked him about it shortly after winning the award.
Butler conceded that parts of the character would always be with him.
"I don't think about it. I don't think that I sound like him still. But I guess I must because I hear it a lot," Butler said.
"You know, I often liken it to someone who lives in another country for a long time.
"I had three years where [the role] was my only focus in life, so I'm sure there will always be pieces of my DNA that will always be linked in that way."
In case you're not a die hard Austin Butler fan, this is how the California-born actor sounded before playing Elvis:
How did Butler develop his voice to play Elvis?
This is where Dr Bartlett has some insights.
A number of experts worked with Butler to develop his character — and Elvis's distinctive way of talking — including renowned voice and dialect coaches Erik Singer and Eric Vetro.
Dr Bartlett was contacted in 2019 to see if she would be interested in working as a singing coach on the film.
She said the film's composer, Elliot Wheeler, invited her to meet Butler so she could assess his voice and determine if they could work together on his singing voice.
"I actually treated him like I would any of my other professional singers," Dr Bartlett told ABC Gold Coast.
First, she said they worked to establish Butler's natural voice.
"Basically what I look for is what their natural singing voice is doing," she said.
"I strip away all the effects someone is putting on, and I go 'what does this natural voice sound like?' and what is working and what needs help in terms of enhancement, in terms of support, flexibility, stamina, all those things."
Next, they worked on developing what Butler's character would sound like.
"When you've got an iconic voice like that it's really difficult," she said.
"It's very easy to be an impersonator because what you do is literally copy the sounds and the problem with that for someone like Austin is that it would not be sustainable."
She said actors needed to establish a genuine voice of their own, rather than copying that of others.
"The voice is basically muscular — we call our high-level singers vocal athletes — it's muscular, so they've got to find the efficiency and authenticity in their own voice," she said.
Why does he still sound like Elvis?
Dr Bartlett said Butler spent years forming a "connection" with the character he was expected to play.
"Because of COVID shutdowns he was working on it all the time, and it's difficult to switch off something you've spent so much focus time on," she said.
Dr Bartlett gave an insight into Butler's commitment to the role.
"You know, when he came into his singing lessons he was dressed in 50s-style gear," she said.
"He was never going to be — and [director] Baz Luhrmann didn't want him to be — an Elvis impersonator, that's the last thing they wanted him to be.
"What they wanted was a true connection with the personality of Elvis and his story and that's what Austin worked on.
"What you saw in that Golden Globes speech, that's him. It's genuine, it's not put on."
Like Butler, Dr Bartlett wasn't sure when, or if, he would be able to shake the accent completely.
"I feel sorry people are saying that, you know, it's still acting [but] he's actually taken [the voice] on board," she said.
"I don't know how long that will last, or if it's going to be there forever."
Any other clues about the accent?
She said the voices of most men weren't stable until well into their 30s. Butler is 31.
"The muscles, ligaments the cartilages, so the actual structure of the instrument, which is the larynx, that's not stabilised until they're in their early 30s," she said.
"So, like an athlete, if you overdo the voice too early, too young, or try to impose a sound that's not natural to that voice, then eventually that voice will tire out and you'll have problems."
Dr Bartlett likened the voice to a flute or saxophone.
"It's a living instrument. It's the only one that's not man-made," she said.
"So, whatever you're doing to your body is reflected in your voice."
That's why, for the film, Butler sang Elvis' songs in full — up until the late 60s.
She said taking on the voice of an older Elvis could have put too much strain on Butler's voice.
"It's his voice on all Elvis material up until 1968, I believe, in the movie," she said.
"After that, he still sings the beginning of everything, even the older stuff, but then it gets really belty and heavy.
"Unfortunately Elvis had taken a lot of pharmaceutical drugs and things, that all affects your voice.
"So it was very smart in not making [Butler] do all of that. They just merged his voice with Elvis' voice by taking stems from original recordings."
Editor's Note 18/01/2023: This article has been amended to include the fact that voice specialists Erik Singer and Eric Vetro also worked with Austin Butler to enhance his portrayal of Elvis in the film. Irene Bartlett was Butler’s singing coach.
