Ali Condon
Austin Butler is officially at the Oscars after his performance as Elvis Presley saw him dominate this year's awards season.
But fans can't get past the fact that he still has that Elvis accent:
Austin was so dedicated to the part in Baz Luhrmann's biopic that he still can’t seem to shake the Elvis twang he developed while filming.
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Across interviews and awards shows, Austin has sounded like a living embodiment of the King of Rock and Roll - and he swears he doesn't mean it.
But people are starting to get a little fed up.
"Sorry not sorry, but it’s so cringe to listen to Austin Butler speak with the Elvis accent," tweeted one Oscars viewer.
"Austin Butler still has a hint of that accent and I’m gonna shove him into a locker," threatened another.
"Austin Butler deserves an Oscar simply for not losing that damn accent," joked a third.
Austin perfected the Elvis accent with the help of voice coach Associate Professor Irene Bartlett from Griffith University.
The actor has admitted that he didn’t even realise he had kept up the Elvis voice until it was pointed out to him. Not only that, but dedicating three years to perfecting the part meant that he seriously damaged his vocal cords - which isn’t helping his case.
“I think from all the singing, I probably have destroyed my voice a bit – you know, my vocal chords. It’s a lot raspier now, yeah,” he shared on the Graham Norton Show last month, adding that one particular song took 40 takes to get right.
Bartlett has also jumped to Austin's defence, assuring critics that perfecting an accent like Elvis's is no easy feat.
“When you've got an iconic voice like that it's really difficult," she told ABC Gold Coast.
"It's very easy to be an impersonator because what you do is literally copy the sounds and the problem with that for someone like Austin is that it would not be sustainable."
She added: "I feel sorry people are saying that, you know, it's still acting [but] he's actually taken [the voice] on board.
"I don't know how long that will last, or if it's going to be there forever."
Well, that accent work obviously paid off - no matter how sick his fans are getting of it - because Austin is up for Best Actor at tonight's Oscars.
Also nominated are Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin, Brendan Fraser for The Whale, Paul Mescal for Aftersun, and Bill Nighy for Living.