Austin Butler ‘moved to tears’ by Lisa Marie Presley’s reaction to his Elvis movie

The 30-year-old actor stars as the late King of Rock and Roll in the new biopic and cried when Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie, 54, hailed the movie as “spectacular.”

He said:” I want everybody to love the film, obviously, but the pressure I have really felt is doing justice to Elvis. The positive response from Lisa Marie Presley brought me to tears.”

The former ‘Switched at Birth’ star – who lost his mother Lori when he was just 23 – went on to explain that he tried out for the role of the ‘Hound Dog’ hitmaker with a self-tape and was not impressed with himself but later felt inspired to try again when he realised that Elvis lost his mother at the same age.

He told The New York Times: “At first, I tried ‘Love Me Tender’ just sitting in my bedroom. but when I watched it back, my heart just sank. It wasn’t alive. It felt like going to a wax museum. I was trying to do these mannerisms, and it didn’t feel like spontaneous life happening. Then I had a horrible nightmare.

I dreamed that my mom was alive. But she was dying all over again. And when I woke up, I just felt so totally, horribly heartbroken. My grief was overwhelming. And then all of a sudden it clicked that Elvis, who also lost his mom when he was only 23, might have had moments that were similar to this one. He might have even woken up from the same dream.

“I then sang ‘Unchained Melody’ But instead of singing to a romantic partner. I sang it to my mom.”