Austin Butler Seemingly Credits Ex Vanessa Hudgens With Pushing Him To Do ‘Elvis’ Movie

Austin Butler seemed to notation a speech with ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens that inspired him to play precocious stone legend Elvis Presley. “The period earlier I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was making the movie, I was going to look astatine Christmas lights with a friend, and determination was an Elvis Christmas opus connected the vigor and I was singing along, and my person looked implicit astatine maine and goes, ‘You’ve got to play Elvis.’ I said, ‘Oh, that’s specified a agelong shot,'” the 31-year-old said on The Hollywood Reporter’s Actors Roundtable series. While helium didn’t sanction Vanessa and simply referred to his ex arsenic a “friend” the communicative lines up with a past communicative the High School Musical alum has told wherever she did name her ex-boyfriend of 8 years.

Austin continued, “A mates of weeks later, I was playing the piano. I ne'er truly sang for immoderate of my friends oregon anything. That aforesaid person was determination and I was playing the piano. She said, ‘I’m serious. You gotta fig retired however you tin get the rights to a script.’ Then my cause called and said, ‘So Baz Luhrmann is making an Elvis film.'” The movie went connected to gain Austin the biggest accolades of his career, including a large triumph astatine the 2023 Golden Globe Awards wherever existent woman Kaia Gerber, 21, was by his side.

Austin Butler and Vanessa Hudgens dated for 8 years earlier their 2020 split. (Shutterstock)

Vanessa, 34, besides recounted her broadside of the communicative successful a 2019 interrogation months earlier their 2020 split. “Last December, we were driving on and we were listening to Christmas music, and past an Elvis Presley Christmas opus came on,” she explained connected Live with Kelly and Ryan. “He had conscionable dyed his hairsbreadth dark. He’s a earthy blond, and I was looking astatine him and helium was singing on and I was like, ‘Babe, you request to play Elvis.'”

She past remembered the coincidence of her ex-partner sitting successful beforehand of a piano, and persisting him to audition for the film Elvis. “Then successful January, helium was sitting astatine the piano,” she went on. “And he’s playing and he’s singing and I’m like, ‘I don’t cognize how, but you request to fig retired however you tin play Elvis. Like, I don’t cognize however we get rights oregon what we do, but you request to play him.'”

Austin Butler is seen arsenic Elvis Presley successful biopic ‘Elvis.’ (Shutterstock)

Back successful 2019, Vanessa was “over the moon” astir him landing the relation successful Elvis. “I AMMMM OVERRRR THE F—— MOOOOOOOOONNNNN. I CAN’T WAIT… SO PROUD OF MY HONEYYYYY!!!” she wrote with bosom oculus emojis connected Instagram.

Vanessa and Austin were archetypal linked romantically successful 2011 erstwhile they attended a day enactment for Ashley Tisdale‘s sister. The narration besides marked Vanessa’s archetypal nationalist 1 aft splitting from ex Zac Efron, who besides starred on High School Musical with her and Ashley. Austin and Vanessa dated solidly for 8 years earlier splitting successful 2020. Back successful 2019, Vanessa was “over the moon” astir him landing the relation successful Elvis. Austin has been dating Kaia successful Jan. 2022, portion Vanessa is successful a narration with shot pro Cole Tucker arsenic of 2020.

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