Austin Butler Opens Up About 'Immediate' Connection With Lisa Marie Presley

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Austin Butler is reminiscing on his friendship with the late Lisa Marie Presley. During his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Monday, January 30th, the Elvis star opened up about their instant connection. "I first met Lisa when we screened the film at Graceland. I've never had an experience where I met somebody and felt an immediate depth of relationship with them," Butler shared.

"She's also, she's a person who didn't have anything to prove and wouldn't open up to anybody and she opened up to me," he continued. "We got so close so fast and it's just devastating." Butler went on to talk about the strange experience of promoting and celebrating the movie's success— the actor recently received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor— while mourning the loss of Lisa Marie.

"It's weird in moments like this because it's so bittersweet," Butler said. "I mean, so much great stuff is happening, but I'm just devastated for her family. And for her to not be here celebrating with us, you know."

Before she passed on January 12th, Lisa Marie attended the 2023 Golden Globes on January 10th where Butler took home the award for Best Actor in a Drama. "Yeah, I'm happy I got to be with her at the (Golden) Globes, I'll never forget that for the rest of my life," he said. The day after her death, Butler shared a heartfelt message and even dedicated his Academy Award nod to the late daughter of Elvis.

Lisa Marie also made it known how much she approved of Butler's portrayal of her father. "Austin Butler channeled and embodied my father’s heart and soul beautifully. In my humble opinion, his performance is unprecedented and FINALLY done accurately and respectfully. (If he doesn’t get an Oscar for this, I will eat my own foot, haha.)," she wrote on Instagram in May 2022.


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