Austin Butler Reveals How Elvis Guided Him Through Heartache, Loneliness and the Hazards of Fame

Austin Butler’s star is rapidly rising in Hollywood. His Oscar-nominated performance in Elvis is catapulting him to new levels of success. But Butler is far from new to the acting world.

His career began back in 2005 when he started to land smaller roles on Disney and Nickelodeon shows. He continued to get more and more screen time, starring in several short-lived television series over the next decade.

His career next led him to the stage, acting alongside Denzel Washington in 2018’s The Iceman Cometh.

But 2019 was a pivotal year for Butler. Fourteen years after his acting debut, he had a small but impressive role in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He was also cast in his life-changing role as Elvis.

Now, we’re watching his success continue to unfold in real time.

Austin Butler’s Elvis Success

From his heartbreaking performance to his infamous accent, Butler’s performance as Elvis has been a defining moment in his career. The actor has cemented his place alongside his critically acclaimed peers.

While his success is impressive, Austin Butler is far from an overnight success story. But he wouldn’t change a thing – in fact, he’s grateful that the critical acclaim took as long as it did.

Butler spent time his waking hours studying the "Jailhouse Rock" singer and realizing the parallels between their lives; losing their mothers at the age of 23, the loneliness of the stage, and how hard it is to live in the public eye. As Elvis told a reporter, "It’s very hard to live up to an image”.

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Butler opened up to the Sydney Morning Herald, “Being able to look back at Elvis’ life allowed me to really meditate on those lessons that I ended up learning through him. [That includes] the emotional turmoil that comes when you experience so much love while you’re on stage, and your dopamine spikes through the roof, and then you’re in an empty hotel room and suddenly, you feel lower than ever.

He says, “In a way, [Elvis has] guided me to hopefully deal with this time in my life in the healthiest way I can.”

Not an Overnight Success Story

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Austin Butler shared how his recent success has been a dream come true. But he’s also happy it’s happening now – when he’s in his 30s. That doesn’t mean he never worried about the future.

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“I was 20 and I was looking back and going, ‘Oh, no, my dreams are never going to come true in the same way,’ ” says Butler. “But now, in retrospect, I can look back and go, if I had some film that hit really big when I was younger, I wouldn’t have had to keep going back to the drawing board and saying, ‘How do you get better at this?’ ”

His career unfolded in a way that allowed him to keep improving. He always had new levels he wanted to reach – and so he learned new ways to reach them.

Now, the star has the success he’s always dreamed of – and the life lessons he’s always needed.

Austin Butler Reminds Us to Keep Following Our Dreams

Austin Butler’s perseverance and commitment remind us that sometimes, an overnight success story isn’t actually the most rewarding path.

There’s a lot of wisdom and pleasure that can come from the joy of chasing our dreams.

Austin Butler always knew he wanted to be the calibre of actor who worked alongside the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio. He also knew it would take time to get there. Still, he never gave up hope – and now he’s shared the screen with his idol.

There are many lessons to be learned from Austin Butler’s rise to fame. But the most important might be that sometimes, the journey is just as valuable as the destination.

When we view every setback as an opportunity to grow, we have the chance to become the best versions of ourselves.

When we give ourselves time to succeed, we can transform into the people we’ve always dreamed we could be.