Riley Keough Says Austin Butler Was Able To “Capture The Humanity” Of Her Grandfather “Beautifully”
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The 'Daisy Jones & The Six' star said that other Elvis portrayals have felt like a “caricature.”
Samir Hussein/Getty Images; Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
Riley Keough recently opened up about what it was like seeing Austin Butler portray her grandfather, Elvis Presley, in Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster biopic Elvis.
Speaking with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest on Live With Kelly and Ryan Tuesday, Keough said that Butler’s performance “blew her away.”
"I think he was outstanding and incredible,” the oldest daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley shared. “I couldn't have imagined anyone being able to pull off what he did in terms of embodying my grandfather. It was really shocking and emotional and it totally blew me away."
Keough recalled being “in tears for like a week” after watching the Oscar-nominated movie for the first time. “Because of the film, but also because of [Butler’s] performance," she elaborated.
Keough, who stars as the title character in Daisy Jones & The Six, said that Butler’s portrayal of her grandfather stands out from other attempts to bring Elvis to life over the years, which she said, “ felt like a caricature…silly.”
“They didn’t capture the humanity in him that Austin was so beautifully able to capture,” she said of previous on-screen portrayals of the legendary entertainer. “In terms of his kindness, even his temper... all of these nuanced things. I don't know how he did it."
Lisa Marie, who died at the age of 54 on January 12, had a very similar reaction to Butler’s performance.
“It was mind blowing. Truly mind blowing,” she said in a red carpet interview at the Golden Globes, just days before her untimely death. “I really didn’t know what to do with myself after I saw it. I had to take like five days to process it because it was so incredible and so spot on and so authentic. I can’t even describe what it meant.”
Elvis has been nominated for seven Oscars, including a Best Actor nod for Butler. Catch the 2023 Academy Awards on Sunday, March 12 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
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