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Even though Elvis Presley passed away when he was only 42 years old, virtually everyone agrees he led a truly epic life. Extremely fortunate in a lot of ways, Elvis can rest assured that he will go down in history as evidenced by all the attention the recent movie about him received.Unfortunately for Elvis' family, however, people who are related to the rock 'n' roll legend have endured too much pain. Most recently, Elvis' only daughter Lisa Marie Presley suddenly passed away at the young age of 54 years old.While people all over the world were saddened to hear about Lisa Marie's passing, at least she led an extraordinary life in a lot of ways. On top of that, it seems pretty clear that Lisa Marie left a mark on most of the people who were fortunate enough to know her.As a result of the fact that Austin Butler got to star in the aforementioned Elvis biopic, Austin Butler got the opportunity to spend time with Lisa Marie. For that reason, a lot of observers were left wondering if Austin and Lisa Marie made a connection before her tragic passing.
Were Austin Butler And Lisa Marie Presley Close Before Her Passing?
By the time Austin Butler was born in 1991, Lisa Marie Presley already was 22 years old. For that reason, the chances of the two performers ever becoming close seemed extremely unlikely for a very long time.
After starting his career with family-friendly fare, Austin was cast as Elvis Presley and he unsurprisingly got the chance to meet Lisa Marie. Fortunately for both of them. Lisa Marie and Austin got along really well.
Thanks to that friendship, Lisa Marie traveled to events like the Golden Globes to support Austin who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. On top of that, when an event was thrown to celebrate what would have been Elvis' 88th birthday, Austin showed up to join in with Lisa Marie.
After spending time together at those events and many others, Austin learned of Lisa Marie's passing in January 2023. While many fans were mourning Lisa Marie's passing, Austin wrote a touching tribute to the woman who became his friend.
"My heart is completely shattered for Riley, Finley, Harper, and Priscilla at the tragic and unexpected loss of Lisa Marie. I am eternally grateful for the time I was lucky enough to be near her bright light and will forever cherish the quiet moments we shared. Her warmth, her love, and her authenticity will always be remembered."
Did Lisa Marie Presley Like Austin Butler's Elvis Performance?
When Baz Luhrmann decided to make an Elvis biopic, there were loads of actors who were champing at the bit to land the titular role. Despite that, it is easy to imagine how scary it must have been for Austin Butler when he was cast as the rock 'n' roll legend.
Due to Elvis Presley's superstar status, there are hundreds of hours of footage of him. On top of that, there are still millions of passionate Elvis fans alive today. As a result, if Austin fell short in his portrayal of Elvis, there would have been legions of people ready to call him out.
On top of having to live up to the expectations of Elvis fans, Austin also had to deal with something even more intense. After all, he knew that Elvis' wife and daughter were going to see his performance. With that in mind, it wouldn't be surprising at all if Austin lived in fear of letting Elvis' loved ones down for months.
Fortunately for Austin and Elvis' director Baz Luhrmann, Lisa Marie and Priscilla Presley both very vocally supported their movie and especially Butler's performance.
While speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Marie lavished praise on Austin. "It's almost as if he channeled him. He put everything he had, his heart, his soul, everything he had into researching, reading, watching, learning. He honoured him in every way possible."
If that statement didn't make it clear enough that Lisa Marie adored Austin's performance as Elvis, she wrote on Instagram about him deserving one of Hollywood's biggest honors.
"If Butler does not win an Oscar for the role, I will eat my own foot. You can feel and witness Baz's pure love, care, and respect for my father throughout this beautiful film, and it is finally something that myself and my children and their children can be proud of forever."
