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By now, everyone’s noticed that Austin Butler is still talking like Elvis — and Angela Bassett thinks she can explain.
In fact, Angela says she found herself in a similar situation after she played Tina Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do with It.
Looking back, Angela admits that playing a character like that can “absolutely” be hard to shake, especially when it consumes your whole life for months at a time.
“Tina’s laugh and the way she spoke took over,” Angela told the New Yorker, revealing that she can still do Tina’s laugh.
She continued, “It took over, not as long as Elvis — maybe about four months after.”
Angela explained that characters like Tina and Elvis become “a part of you” because you’ve “lived and breathed and began to see life through their perspective.”
“I think that’s what’s going on with him,” Angela said. “You have to bid it farewell, and it’s hard to let it go, because you’ve enjoyed it, you survived it, you delivered, and you’re proud of that.”
And after taking the opportunity and hitting “it out of left field,” Angela says it “takes a moment to get back to regular you.”
“But you’re different after this moment,” she added. “Now, you’re Austin, who did that great performance.”
As of now, Austin seems to still have the Elvis accent going on — but he says he’s working on getting rid of it.
