Austin Butler refers to ex-Vanessa Hudgens as a ‘Friend’ when retelling ‘Elvis’ role story
Though he didn’t mention Vanessa Hudgens by name, Austin Butler said a “friend” encouraged him to play Elvis Presley after hearing him sing the legend’s songs
Austin Butler recently narrated a story about ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens as if she were a friend.
The Golden Globe winner, 31, stated on The Hollywood Reporter’s Actors Roundtable that a “friend” persuaded him to pursue the part of Elvis Presley in Elvis.
“The month before I heard that Baz [Luhrmann] was making the movie, I was going to look at Christmas lights with a friend, and there was an Elvis Christmas song on the radio and I was singing along, and my friend looked over at me and goes, ‘You’ve got to play Elvis.’ I said, ‘Oh, that’s such a long shot,’ ” Butler said.
“A couple of weeks later, I was playing the piano,” he continued. “I never really sang for any of my friends or anything. That same friend was there and I was playing the piano. She said, ‘I’m serious. You gotta figure out how you can get the rights to a script.’ Then my agent called and said, ‘So Baz Luhrmann is making an Elvis film.’ “
While Butler did not particularly mention Hudgens, 34, in the interview, the actress told a very identical experience when the two were still dating years ago.
“Last December, we were driving along and we were listening to Christmas music, and then an Elvis Presley Christmas song came on,” Hudgens said on a 2019 episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan. “He had just dyed his hair dark. He’s a natural blond, and I was looking at him and he was singing along and I was like, ‘Babe, you need to play Elvis.’ “
Just like Butler mentioned, Hudgens continued by adding how she insisted he audition after hearing him sing more of the iconic rock-and-roller while playing the piano.
“Then in January, he was sitting at the piano,” she shared. “And he’s playing and he’s singing and I’m like, ‘I don’t know how, but you need to figure out how you can play Elvis. Like, I don’t know how we get rights or what we do, but you need to play him.’ “
Butler and Hudgens were initially seen together in 2011 at Disney costar Ashley Tisdale’s sister’s birthday party, and afterwards made public appearances on red carpets. When it was announced that Butler would be playing Elvis in July 2019, Hudgens expressed her support in an Instagram post.
“I AMMMM OVERRRR THE F—— MOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNN. I CAN’T WAIT!!! I’M SO PROUD OF MY HONEY!!! “She was writing at the moment.
According to a source, the two separated up shortly after, officially separating in January 2020, citing hectic job and travel commitments. Butler is now seeing model Kaia Gerber, and Hudgens is dating pro baseball player Cole Tucker.