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With the Oscars just a day away, it is quite a good time to look back at this year's star performers and films, including Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis and its star Austin Butler.
Butler is one of the frontrunners in the best actor race for this year's Academy Awards for his portrayal of the rock and roll legend who transformed the music industry forever. While the focus is understandably on the actor who portrayed Elvis Presley, it is also worth noting how the whole team came together to create the look and persona.
Apart from over 90 costumes, wigs, and personality emulation, Austin Butler also had to be fitted with prosthetics to portray Elvis Presley in each decade of his journey, something that makeup artists claim was a very tough job to do.
According to reports, Hanks was also another character in the film who needed heavy prosthetics to portray the fabled Colonel Tom Parker. Hanks reportedly spent over five hours in the makeup chair each day.
So yes, Austin Butler wore prosthetics and a lot of makeup, which included false eyelashes and hair, to look like the stunning image of Presley, a highlight that could also put Elvis in the front seat for Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar.
Exploring Austin Butler's makeup in Elvis
Austin Butler may have pulled off the personality of the greatest legend in rock music flawlessly, but carving his look for the same was a whole new struggle. Of course, this involved heavy makeup, but it also consisted of great prosthetic work to make the actor stand out as the ace musician, whose style was just as famous as his voice.
Prosthetic designers Jason Baird and Mark Coulier, who worked in the Oscar-nominated film, later revealed how they had to work harder than they imagined to give Butler that final bit of finesse. Speaking to Deadline, Coulier revealed:
"That was a really interesting thing because originally, we were thinking about the makeup for Colonel Tom Parker on Tom Hanks....What we didn’t realize then was that there was gonna be more work turning Austin Butler into Elvis in terms of prosthetics than there was on Tom Parker. Austin Butler’s wearing a chin piece all the way through the movie right from the beginning, and then we added cheek pieces and a jawline for when he is in Vegas."
He further added:
"Baz wanted him to look more mature and chiseled and less boyish than Austin looks, you know? So, we were able to push his character more into Elvis territory and change his face. When you’re watching the movie, imperceptibly he becomes more Elvis as you get through the movie, because we were able to add more stuff to him."
This was an extremely important process as Butler's look as Elvis was one of the first eye-catching things about the film, which explored the rock and roll star's rise and fall throughout the years through the eyes of his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
The film has been received with wide acclaim across the globe, especially for Butler's acting. It will be one of the primary focuses on the night of the big event at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
