Austin Butler has just seen out an amazing year by scooping up the Golden Globes 2023 gong for Best Actor – Motion Picture, Drama for his incredible performance in Elvis.
Taking to the stage, the 31-year-old thanked director Baz Luhrmann, telling the audience: "Thank you for believing in me in those moments that I didn't even believe in myself. I'm so grateful to you." He also thanked his co-star Tom Hanks as the “greatest dance partner” and also Denzel Washington for helping him land the role. “Denzel, thank you for your kindness, thank you for your generosity in championing me when you did not have to. I am so grateful for all eternity to you,” he said.
Lastly, Austin thanked Elvis himself, gushing: "You were an icon and a rebel, and I love you so much."
Austin's win isn't difficult to understand why. The American actor truly transforms into the King of Rock'n'Roll for the 2022 Elvis biopic and famously had hard-nosed critics raving about his performance. While it may seem that Butler has suddenly popped out of nowhere to grace us with his talent, he has actually been perfecting his craft in Hollywood for quite a while.
“It is a part of his legacy that helped lead us.”
In fact, you may recognise Austin Butler from some of your favourite teen sitcoms from the noughties - including Zoey 101. Talk about nostalgia.
As a fresh-faced teen, Austin, who was born in Anaheim, California, took on the role of James Garrett in the beloved Nickelodeon show Zoey 101, in which he played the love interest of Britney Spears' sister Jamie-Lynn, who headed up the show.
Ready for a CV role-call? Here we go…
The previously shaggy-haired blonde was a shoo-in for other guest roles within the iconic teen television market, going on to star in Hannah Montana alongside Miley Cyrus and iCarly alongside Miranda Cosgrove.
Furthermore, he appeared on Wizards of Waverly Place alongside Selena Gomez before reuniting with her for her 2019 zombie comedy, The Dead Don't Die.
Oh, and let's not forget another teen staple, such as Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, the show was actually his first big television credit that helped him secure a much-needed acting agent.
The Suite Life's Ashley Tisdale, another staple celebrity of the millennial teen era, was also Austin co-star in 2009's Aliens in the Attic and Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure two years later. The pair remain great friends to this very day, with Austin having dated Ashley's BFF, Vanessa Hudgens, for nearly a decade.
Austin switched things up in his twenties, taking on the role of Carrie Bradshaw's (AnnaSophia Robb) first love in the short-lived Sex and the City prequel, The Carrie Diaries, though his first big starring role came in the fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles from 2016 to 2017. He then went on to start alongside Hollywood icons Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon A Time In Hollywood in 2019.
Seriously, what an impressive acting resume, and fair to say, Austin's time to earn his status as a bonafide movie star was long overdue.
And his latest gig, portraying Elvis in the new Baz Luhrmann-directed film, did not disappoint, with many calling for him to win an Oscar for his performance.
Knowing the important place the former rock'n'roll icon still has in the hearts of the world, Austin did not take the role of Elvis for granted and did everything in his power to prepare for it. Spending two years immersed in his character, Austin mastered Elvis' iconic voice after studying a lot of footage of the icon.
"I would take an interview or a speech that he had on stage where he is talking to the audience, and I would practice it as though I was trying to get it to be exact," he told Entertainment Weekly.
Oh, and he spent some time with Priscilla Presley to ensure his portrayal of Elvis, from singing to dancing, was accurate. Casual.
Alongside Butler in the other key roles is Tom Hanks, who plays Elvis' manager Colonel Tom Parker. Olivia DeJonge will also appear as Elvis' wife Priscilla Presley, along with Yola Quartey as musician Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Luke Bracey as talent manager Jerry Schilling. What a film!
Basically, after working in the industry pretty much all of his life, Austin has officially entered the Hollywood elite - so you can expect to see more of him on the big screen.
The star is coming out of retirement.
