Austin Butler Was So Dedicated To His Role In "Elvis" That He Lost Touch Of Who He Actually Is And Ended Up In
The Hospital After Filming WrappedFilming for Elvis was originally slated to begin in Lurhmann's home country of Australia in March 2020
but just days before the shoot started one of its stars, Tom Hanks, was hospitalized with COVID-19.
the severity of the pandemic became clear, production was shut down indefinitely.
But Austin Butler — who has taken on the movie's titular role — declined the invitation to be flown back to his home in Los Angeles.
Instead, he decided to remain in Australia and use lockdown as an opportunity to fully immerse himself in all things Elvis.
In fact, Austin was so devoted to embodying Elvis that Luhrmann was sometimes unable to differentiate
between when he was in character and when he was being himself.
And Austin admitted that he was so dedicated to doing the role justice that he ultimately ended up losing touch with his own identity.
Austin ended up being bedridden for a week after he was diagnosed with a virus that simulates appendicitis.