Tom Hanks: You Could Not Take Your Eyes Off Austin Butler

Austin Butler is the real best actor: He lost the Oscars but won three other best actor battles, restoring the spirit of Elvis

How did Austin Butler win the Best Actor award in three contests (narrowly missing an Oscar)? Because he finally killed off the “cartoon caricature Elvis,” perpetuated by so many Elvis impersonators. In one life-changing performance, Butler “channeled the real Elvis,” bringing the spirit of the real man to life again. From left to right, Baz Luhrmann, Olivia Dejonge, Austin Butler, and Tom Hanks. Photo by Author Eva Rinaldi from Abbotsford, Australia, via Wikimedia Commons.

Even without an Oscar, Elvis star Austin Butler became the best actor by overcoming a half-century of cartoonish caricatures of Elvis Presley.

“So many people have an idea of Elvis,” Butler explained. “They revere him as a god-like figure — or a Halloween costume.”

Butler recaptured the real Elvis so many had lost to the caricature.

Ten other film actors (and thousands of Elvis tribute artists who have been trying to imitate him since 1956) have portrayed Elvis Presley. Famous stars like Kurt Russell and Don Johnson have played the king of rock and roll.

But none succeeded like Butler, who saw “all this noise. The fascinating thing that I was most drawn to was: Who was he when nobody was looking? What does it feel like being inside of him? What does it feel like looking outside of his eyes and experiencing that world?”

Butler, 31, may have lost Sunday night’s Academy Awards, but he won the box office battles and best actor honors from three other contests:

• Best actor at the Golden Globes.