Xuenou > Featured > Austin Butler Recalled Being “Rushed To The Hospital” For A Serious Illness That Came On As Soon As “Elvis” Finished Filming
Austin Butler Recalled Being “Rushed To The Hospital” For A Serious Illness That Came On As Soon As “Elvis” Finished Filming
"My body just started shutting down the day after I finished <i>Elvis.</i>"

Austin Butler Recalled Being “Rushed To The Hospital” For A Serious Illness That Came On As Soon As “Elvis” Finished Filming

If you saw The Carrie Diaries, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, or those cute photos with Kaia Gerber at the Met Gala earlier this month, then chances are you’re familiar with Austin Butler.

Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue, Bettmann / Bettmann Archive via Getty Images

After a glowing recommendation from Denzel Washington helped land him the part, Austin dedicated himself to studying Elvis and learning about the late star’s life in preparation for filming.

Warner Bros. Pictures / Via youtube.com

As Austin recalled in a new interview with GQ, he developed symptoms of a virus that mimics appendicitis immediately after production wrapped on Elvis, and he became so sick that he needed to be “rushed to the hospital.”


Greg Doherty / Getty Images

Austin also spoke about getting into character by meeting people who knew Elvis, like his ex-wife Priscilla Presley, and drawing connections between his lived experiences and the singer’s. “His mother passed away when he was 23, and my mom passed away when I was 23,” Austin said.

Theo Wargo / WireImage via Getty Images

“So when I learned that, it was one of those things where I got chills, and I just thought, Okay, I can connect to that.”

Apparently, Austin transformed into Elvis to such an extent that his family members said he didn’t “sound like [himself] anymore” post-filming, so it should be interesting to see what they mean when Elvis premieres. The movie hits theaters June 24 — will you be watching?