If there’s one thing we know for sure about Austin Butler, it’s that he’s gonna give his all for a movie role.
While starring in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Austin stayed in character as the iconic singer for three years, immersing himself so deeply that he had to be hospitalized once the film finished shooting in 2021.
While promoting Elvis in 2022, Austin memorably kept up the singer’s southern drawl and shocked fans by revealing some of the unhealthy habits he developed while shooting was underway — like drinking microwaved Häagen-Dazs to gain weight.
Of course, the hard work definitely paid off, with Austin earning his first Oscar nomination along with widespread acclaim for the performance. However, that doesn’t mean he’d be willing to go to such extremes ever again anytime soon.
Ahead of the film’s release on March 1, Austin and Dune director Denis Villeneuve sat down with the Los Angeles Times to talk about his transformation into the sociopathic Feyd — with Austin revealing that he felt compelled to scale back his method acting for the benefit of himself and others.
In complete contrast to his all-consuming approach to Elvis, Austin said he “made a conscious decision to have a boundary” when cameras weren’t rolling.
In response, Denis made it clear that Austin was able to slip in and out of character very easily, describing their experience on set together as “tremendously playful.”
If you’ve seen the trailer for Dune: Part Two, you’d be forgiven for barely recognizing Austin, who sports a menacing bald-headed look as Feyd. Discussing the appearance, Denis said the “total transformation” unlocked a whole new side of Austin — and got rid of any last remaining parts of Elvis, too.
For his part, Austin was reluctant to comment too much on the physical transformation as not to “take the mystery away from it.” Though he did say it was a “gift” to “look in the mirror and not see yourself.”