Angela Bassett understands Austin Butler’s plight as he responds to questions about his voice following his Oscar-nominated role in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
Bassett, whose Black Panther: Wakanda Forever role earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination, sat down with The New Yorkers for a interview posted online on Monday. During the conversation, Bassett was asked if her Oscar-nominated role as Tina Turner in the 1993 biopic What Does Love Have To Do With It took over her brain on the way Elvis Presley’s role seemingly influenced Butler.
The actress responded that this was “definitely” the case for her, and she even gave a high Turner-esque laugh to prove it. “Tina’s smile and the way she spoke took over,” Bassett said. “It took over, not as long as Elvis did — maybe about four months after that. You lived and breathed like that and started seeing life through their perspective. You had to. They’re a part of you.”
She continued, “I think that’s what’s going on with him. You have to say goodbye to it, and it’s hard to let it go, because you enjoyed it, you survived it, you lived it up and you’re proud of it. You got a chance and you hit him out of left field. So it takes a while to get back to normal. But you are different after this moment. Now you are Austin, who delivered that amazing performance.
Butler sparked social media debate at last month’s Golden Globes when viewers felt his acceptance speech appeared to be delivered in a voice similar to the one he used for the role. While addressing reporters backstage after his win, Butler said, “I don’t think I still sound like him, but I think I have to because I hear it a lot.”
On a recent visit to The Graham Norton Show, Butler judged that all of his singing for the film “sort of destroyed my voice”. The actor added that he felt self-conscious after knowing people were questioning his voice.
