Austin Butler Felt ‘Terror’ While Filming Iconic ‘Elvis’ Movie Scene

As awards season approaches, Austin Butler is being honored for his performance as Elvis Presley in the motion picture Elvis. The film has been nominated for three Golden Globe awards. Butler was honored with a nod for Best Actor, while the movie and director Baz Luhrmann received individual nominations. This full-circle moment comes after the actor spent two years of preparation for the role, including when Butler felt on-set “terror.”

Austin Butler said playing Elvis Presley was ‘so much pressure’

In an interview with Collider, Butler said the responsibility of playing the King of Rock and Roll and singing his songs was “so much pressure” as an actor.

“His life has been pulled out of context, and all his family’s gone through,” Butler explained. “So doing justice to them, and he was so much pressure. It taught me a lot about managing that level of responsibility and the feeling of when you have moments of self-doubt, what you do, and all that stuff.”

“I was most scared to have Priscilla and Lisa Marie [Presley] see it,” Butler continued. “That was when I was sweating. I was nervous because they were at the core of everything for me. Once I knew how they felt about it, that relieved so much of the stress that I had felt for so long.”

The actor felt ‘terror’ while filming one key ‘Elvis’ scene

In an interview with Variety, Butler said he was called to recreate Presley’s 1968 comeback special on the second day of shooting. He likened his experience to how Presley likely felt during that uncertain period. After focusing on a seven-year film career, Presley was out of touch with the changing music industry landscape.

Therefore, the hour-long special would either revive his career or end it. This energy was what Butler focused on during the scene that caused him “terror.”

“That was the second day of shooting — the first performance,” Butler recalled. “It was so nerve-racking because I had a year and a half before that point to prepare. And all the preparation is for nothing if you don’t get it.”

He continued, “Before walking out onstage, I had the terror: ‘My career feels like it’s on the line at this moment.’ But at that point in Elvis’ life, his career was on the line, and he had terror.”

Elvis Presley’s comeback was a Christmas special turned concert

Presley’s image as a rock and roll star needed rehabilitation ahead of the 1968 comeback special. His manager, Colonel Tom Parker, believed a Christmas special would bring Presley back into the public’s graces.

Luckily for Presley, producer and director Steve Binder took the reins and reinvented the hour-long production. Instead of the holiday special Parker envisioned, as seen in Elvis, Binder breathed new life into Presley’s career by painting him as a rock and roll force to be reckoned with.

In both the film and the original special, Presley’s 1968 comeback marked a turning point in the singer’s professional career. “To me, it was watching Elvis rediscover himself,” Binder said in an interview with The Washington Post.

“When we began the production, he didn’t know if he was famous because of the Colonel and his PR machine. But he rediscovered himself. He just gained so much confidence.” As did Butler, who told Gold Radio UK: “That was the thing. After a year-and-a-half of preparing, here’s this moment of truth where it’s our second day of shooting, and I’ve got to walk out in the black leather.”

Elvis can be streamed on HBO Max.