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

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Austin Butler recently retold a story involving ex-girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens, referring to her as a friend.

During The Hollywood Reporter's Actors Roundtable, the Golden Globe winner, 31, revealed it was a "friend" who encouraged him to pursue the role 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 didn't specifically name Hudgens, 34, in the interview, the actress shared a nearly identical story years ago when the two were still together.

RELATED: Austin Butler Wishes Fellow Elvis Actor Jacob Elordi 'All the Best' on Golden Globes 2023 Red Carpet

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"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.' "

RELATED VIDEO: Austin Butler Had 'No Idea How' Elvis Presley's Family 'Were Going to Respond' to His Portrayal

RELATED: Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler's Relationship Timeline

Butler and Hudgens were spotted together for the first time in 2011 at Disney costar Ashley Tisdale's sister's birthday party, and made public appearances at red carpets after that. When it was publicly announced that Butler would be taking on the role of Elvis in July 2019, Hudgens shared her support in an Instagram post.

"I AMMMM OVERRRR THE F—— MOOOOOOOOONNNNN. I CAN'T WAIT 😍😍😍😍😍😍 SO PROUD OF MY HONEYYYYY!!!" she wrote at the time.

A source confirmed to PEOPLE that the two broke up shortly after, officially splitting in January 2020, citing demanding work and travel schedules. Both have since moved on, Butler with model Kaia Gerber, and Hudgens with pro baseball player Cole Tucker.