Austin Butler Calls Mentor Denzel Washington 'the Godfather of Acting'

getty (2)

Austin Butler holds enormous respect for Denzel Washington, an actor the Elvis star considers "the godfather of acting."

In a new feature interview with Backstage magazine published Wednesday, Butler, 31, said that working with Washington, 68, on the 2018 Broadway production of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh "changed my perception of myself and my abilities."

"Something Denzel told me is: There is no stage acting or film acting; there is the truth," Butler told the outlet, which noted the Elvis star "frequently returns" to lessons he learned while working with Washington.

"Human beings do really broad things in everyday life," Butler continued in the interview as he spoke of the veteran actor's advice. "Sometimes, they do very subtle things. You can do either onstage or onscreen."

"That freed me up to realize [that] all of the things I was learning onstage—I could take them back into film," he added of the experience.

RELATED: Austin Butler Speaks Out After Lisa Marie Presley's 'Tragic' Death: 'My Heart Is Completely Shattered'

Elsewhere in the interview, Butler recalled how he doubted he would even land his role in The Iceman Cometh in the first place.

Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic

"I thought, I'm an L.A. actor; they're not going to cast me," he told Backstage. "I'd been told before that there's this divide: That's New York—they're not going to look at you or respect you."

Butler previously praised Washington at the Golden Globe Awards last Tuesday as he accepted the award for best actor in a drama movie for director Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic.

Never miss  a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"Also, I gotta thank Denzel Washington," the star said during his speech. "Denzel, thank you for your kindness, thank you for your generosity and championing me when you did not have to."

"I am so grateful for all eternity to you," Butler added.

Rich Polk/NBC via Getty

While the Training Day actor did not appear in Elvis, nor did he work behind the camera on the biopic, Washington helped Butler secure the role by giving director Luhrmann a call to advocate on Butler's behalf.

RELATED: Austin Butler Refers to Ex Vanessa Hudgens as 'Friend' When Retelling Story About Elvis Role

In a May 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Luhrmann, 60, said that Washington cold-called him shortly after he first encountered a video of Butler performing a cover of Presley's "Unchained Melody."

"I did not know Denzel," Luhrmann clarified of the call to the outlet. "And he said, 'I've just worked with this guy on stage. I've never seen a work ethic like it.' "

Luhrmann also recalled the conversation with Washington in a panel conversation about the movie with SiriusXM in June 2022.

" 'You're about to meet an actor I've been on stage with,' " the director recalled of Washington's pitch for Butler at the time. " 'You will not believe this young man's work ethic, there is just no minute he won't give to the art.' "