Austin Butler said that playing the King of Rock ‘n Roll was “the greatest ride of his [my] life” — but it all ended with him being in hospital.
After a gruelling filming schedule, Butler, 31, explained that his body just started shutting down, and he spent ”a week in bed” right after his last day of filming the smash hit biopic.
In what should have been a week break spent relaxing, Butler unfortunately spent in hospital, before having to begin filming for another project straight after.
“I didn’t get sick the entire time I filmed, but the day that I finished, I ended up in the emergency room,” he told People on the red carpet for the 2013 SAG Awards.
Explaining this further, in May 2022, he told British GQ that he “woke up at 4 in the morning with excruciating pain” and was “rushed to hospital,” which was all due to a virus he contracted that simulated the symptoms of appendicitis.
“My body just started shutting down the day after I finished ‘Elvis,’” Butler recalled.
It looks like that wasn’t the only health struggle he came across whilst filming, and he actually lost his voice at one point.
”We did so many takes. And at a certain point, I just lost my voice,” Butler explained. “So then I went on vocal rest for a couple days, and I was able to come back.”
After hearing about the entire filming process behind Elvis, it comes as no surprise that the star’s health took a hit. – In an interview last year, he opened up about how filming for the movie consumed his entire life.
He even went into detail about the impact it had on the relationship with his family, revealing that he didn’t see them for about three yeas whilst it was in production.
“I was prepping with [director Baz Luhrmann], and then I went to Australia. I had months where I wouldn’t talk to anybody.”
“And when I did, the only thing I was ever thinking about was Elvis. I was speaking in his voice the whole time,” he told singer Janelle Monáe in an interview for Variety.”
However, it’s safe to say that he’s definitely reaped the rewards of his successes, winning a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award for his role as Elvis.
