Austin Butler says he’s “getting rid” of his Elvis accent after going viral on social media

Elvis star Austin Butler is “getting rid” of his Mississippian accent after attracting social media attention.

Currently in contention to win a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as ‘The King’ in director Baz Luhrmann’s aforementioned biopic, the Californian has struggled to jettison Presley’s distinctive twang in the time since filming wrapped.

Addressing the situation on this week’s episode of The Graham Norton Show, Butler told the host: “I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing. One song took 40 takes.”

Further along, the future Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen recalled co-star Tom Hanks’ emotions ahead of playing Colonel Tom Parker in the movie.

“I had no idea what it was going to be like meeting someone you have admired for so long. You hope they would be warm to you, but you never really know. He is such a master of his craft, and I was intimidated, but the first time I met him he gave me the biggest bear hug and joked about how nervous he was,” Butler explained.

“When I said I was terrified, he said, ‘And, nobody knows what Colonel Parker sounds like, but everyone knows what Elvis sounds like!'”

Previously chatting to Entertainment Weekly, the actor weighed in on how he tackled Presley’s voice.

“I’d hear him say a certain word and I would clip just that bit out so I knew how he said that word,” he revealed. “I created my own archive of how he said every word and every diphthong, and the way that he used musicality in his voice.”

It’s fair to say it worked a treat.