10 Shocking Ways Actors Were Cast That You Didn't Know About
2. Austin Butler's Heartbreaking Dream Leads To An Epic Song - Elvis
Stumbling upon a rather tragic connection between himself and the King of Rock and Roll during his time spent researching Elvis Presley before Baz Luhrmann had decided on his very own actor to play the immortal star, Austin Butler would discover that both he and Elvis lost their mothers in their early 20's.
So, when faced with a particularly distressing nightmare in the lead-up to sending off a tape to the Elvis director, involving his mom being "alive again, but dying", the actor would explain to Vogue:
“I thought he probably had nights where he woke up from nightmares like this. So what can I do with that?”
Binning off his rendition of Love Me Tender that he didn't class as "truthful", Butler proceeded to record himself singing a version of Unchained Melody at a piano in only his bathrobe. In altering his focus on the song from delivering it to a lover to instead singing the heartbreaking tune as if to his own mother, the star poured his soul into the music and definitely caught Luhrmann's attention.
As the director put it, “Was it an audition? Or was he having a breakdown?” Either way, he was gripped and the actor was one step closer to stepping into the King's shoes. on the big screen