Tom Hanks and Austin Butler Wrote Letters to Each Other as ‘Elvis’ Characters
The Baz Luhrmann biopic Elvis movie has received eight Oscar nominations, including Austin Butler for the Best Actor award. The former Disney Channel alum is considered a frontrunner for his mesmerizing portrayal of the iconic performer.
In the film, Tom Hanks portrays Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who led the singer astray and exploited his fame. The Forrest Gump actor was nothing of the kind but, instead, instrumental in helping Butler nail his award-winning performance.
Wanting to be a mentor to the young actor, Hanks often exchanged letters with Butler, remaining in character to help nurture the intensity of the role.
Tom Hanks likes to gift fellow actors with a typewriter
Since a young age, the Saving Private Ryan star has had an obsession with manual typewriters. He uses the outdated machinery as a tool to perform everyday chores, such as writing a letter, thank you note, or even a grocery shopping list.
Hanks has more than 250 typewriters in his collection, most of them in good working condition. The actor explained on a 2017 panel with Penguin Books that he likes “the permanence of what you create with a typewriter.”
The acclaimed actor began sharing his love for typewriters, giving them as gifts to other actors he works with in films.
The actors started corresponding with each other through letters
When filming for Elvis began, Hanks gifted Butler with a manual typewriter. In an interview with USA Today, he explained, “It came to my room at the hotel, with a letter rolled up in there that had been just typed.” The letter, written by Hanks, was in character as Colonel Tom Parker, and addressed to Elvis, not Butler. It simply stated, “Write back as Elvis.”
That was the start of what proved to be a valuable lesson for Butler, as he and Hanks started regularly exchanging typewritten letters to one another in character.
Butler acknowledged, “It wasn’t part of the official rehearsal, but in the end, it was an amazing way to put on paper a man’s mind. To have to condense who your character was into a short letter. It was such an invaluable process that helped me understand these two men.”
How Butler prepared for his role as Elvis
The former Disney star put his life on hold for two years while he worked on the Elvis biopic. Speaking with the LA Times, Butler acknowledged “he lived and breathed all things Elvis — the way he spoke, the way he moved, the way he sang, in order to be able to move in the world as Presley at all times.”
Voice and movement coaches worked extensively with Butler to bring the character to life before the cameras even started rolling. When film production abruptly shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 30-year-old actor said he started to develop a personal relationship with the legendary singer. He would take long walks on the beach alone, attempting to perfect Elvis’ laugh or repeating the singers’ interview responses.
The talented actor did everything he could to embody the spirit of Elvis. Early on in the production process, Butler went to RCA Studio A in Nashville to record at the same place where Elvis himself did. He visited Graceland and was also introduced to Priscilla Presley, gaining valuable insight into her relationship with the musical legend.
