Austin Butler went through hell to play Elvis Presley.

The 30-year-old Hollywood actor donned a big suit for the role in the big-screen biopic. He was designed to resemble the music icon Elvis towards the end of his life.

And it was so uncomfortable it took your breath away in Austin.

READ MORE: Crazy Theories Say Elvis Presley Is Still Alive, From Thick Beard To Graceland Sighting

She said: “When I wore this big dress I felt like I was carrying a lot of extra weight. Then my suit was tied up and my lungs tightened. I could only take small breaths and it was very hot.

“He felt very claustrophobic and I felt great sadness because I’m sure Elvis felt the same way, he could barely breathe.”

Austin wore the dress to recreate the singer’s last performance, in 1977.



Austin Butler said so

And it was worth it because it helped him capture the crippling pain of the Teddy Bear singer.

The American star said: “We had the most extraordinary prosthetic team. When you start seeing transformation it makes you feel different, it really is.

“When you have some weight, you walk differently, you breathe differently and that really helps.

“This final Elvis performance is heartbreaking. You see Elvis’s baby, shining through that big sick body, and you know he didn’t survive until after. He is very moving. “

Austin, right, beat a string of big names to star Elvis, which hit theaters Friday. This is by far the most important role in his career so far.



He looked incredibly similar to the real star.

While filming, he felt the pressure to do a great performance.

He added: “Every day I was nervous because I wanted to do Elvis and his family justice, honor him and his life. It was hard not to feel like a kid in your father’s suit, like you’re wearing these big shoes that you can manage to barely walk.

“Playing Elvis was an amazing and sobering experience. There have been many times in the beginning where I had to walk through fire.

During the making of the film, Austin literally followed in Elvis’ footsteps, above.



Austin said playing Elvis was

This included a session in a recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee, where Heartbreak Hotel was recorded in 1956, in front of an audience of label members.

He said: “It was my first time in a recording studio and I was very nervous. I had to sing those Blue Suede Shoes.

“I had just been cast and now I was singing these iconic songs in front of all these people.

“Slowly and surely the fear was still there, but it became a different experience. I knew this was how Elvis would feel when he first took the stage. “

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