Elvis star Austin Butler made headlines both for winning his first Golden Globe but also for seemingly keeping the Elvis accent he used for the film during his speech… and now another Oscar nominee – Angela Bassett – is offering some advice.
The 31-year-old actor was asked about the accent immediately in the press room after his big Golden Globe win, but he claimed, ‘I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I haven’t noticed ’cause I hear it a lot.’
If anyone could understand this particular predicament it’s the 64-year-old Bassett, who also received her first Oscar nomination for a critically-acclaimed biopic, playing Tina Turner in the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do With It.
The actress – nominated this year for her turn as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – spoke with The New Yorker, and was asked about Butler’s situation.
When asked if the character still ‘took over’ her after filming, she admitted, ‘It absolutely did.’
Angela’s advice: Elvis star Austin Butler made headlines both for winning his first Golden Globe but also for seemingly keeping the Elvis accent he used for the film during his speech… and now another Oscar nominee – Angela Bassett – is offering some advice
Accent: The 31-year-old actor was asked about the accent immediately in the press room after his big Golden Globe win, but he claimed, ‘I don’t think I sound like him still, but I guess I haven’t noticed ’cause I hear it a lot’
Angela as Tina: If anyone could understand this particular predicament it’s the 64-year-old Bassett, who also received her first Oscar nomination for a critically-acclaimed biopic, playing Tina Turner in the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do With It
‘Tina’s laugh and the way she spoke took over,’ Bassett admitted, but said it didn’t last as long as Butler.
‘It took over, not as long as Elvis—maybe about four months after. You so lived and breathed and began to see life through their perspective,’ Bassett admitted.
‘You had to. They’re a part of you. I think that’s what’s going on with him. You have to bid it farewell, and it’s hard to let it go, because you’ve enjoyed it, you survived it, you delivered, and you’re proud of that,’ she said.
‘You got an opportunity and you hit it out of left field. So it takes a moment to get back to regular you. But you’re different after this moment. Now you’re Austin, who did that great performance,’ she said.
Bassett also opened up about how hard she worked to get the details of Tina Turner’s voice just right, adding, ‘I would study each and every detail within a phrase, or half a phrase.’
The actress added, ‘I lost my voice a couple times. They would send a doctor who would put tubing up through the sinuses, which is very scary—like, “Where are you going with that?”’
‘I was working out, getting up at 5 AM. I would eat standing up, just so frazzled on black coffee, plain chicken breasts, white potatoes, and green beans. That’s all that I ate during that time. They would still say, “Tina has a high butt. You have a low butt.” It was, like, “Man, if you knew how hard I work, you would not say anything negative to me about anything,”‘ Bassett exclaimed.
Shortly after the Globes, Butler’s voice coach Irene Bartlett said his accent is, ‘genuine, it’s not put on.’
Took over: ‘Tina’s laugh and the way she spoke took over,’ Bassett admitted, but said it didn’t last as long as Butler
Four months: ‘It took over, not as long as Elvis—maybe about four months after. You so lived and breathed and began to see life through their perspective,’ Bassett admitted
Voice: The actress added, ‘I lost my voice a couple times. They would send a doctor who would put tubing up through the sinuses, which is very scary—like, “Where are you going with that?”’
Genuine: Shortly after the Globes, Butler’s voice coach Irene Bartlett said his accent is, ‘genuine, it’s not put on’
‘I don’t know how long that will last, or if it’s going to be there forever,’ she said, while also addressing the movie’s bizarre shooting schedule.
While filming wrapped in March 2021, more than a year after it was released in June 2022, Bartlett said that was impacted by COVID-19.
‘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 [and] time on,’ she admitted.
However, a few weeks later, Butler dropped the accent altogether at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, where he introduced Elvis director Baz Luhrmann.
He admitted days later on The Graham Norton Show, ‘I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing. One song took 40 takes!’
Butler will be going up against Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Bill Nighy (Living) and Paul Mescal (Aftersun) in the Best Actor category at the Oscars.
Bassett will be vying for Best Supporting Actress against Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Hong Chau (The Whale).
Butler will next be seen in the highly-anticipated Dune Part II as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, which hits theaters November 3.
Forever: ‘I don’t know how long that will last, or if it’s going to be there forever,’ she said, while also addressing the movie’s bizarre shooting schedule
Dropped: However, a few weeks later, Butler dropped the accent altogether at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, where he introduced Elvis director Baz Luhrmann
Getting rid: He admitted days later on The Graham Norton Show, ‘I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing. One song took 40 takes!’
Oscar nominee: Bassett will be vying for Best Supporting Actress against Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Hong Chau (The Whale)
Read the full article here
Discussion about this post