Austin Butler abandoned his family for years to make ‘Elvis’

It left him all shook up.

Austin Butler abandoned his own family for years due to his starring role in Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.”

The 31-year-old made the revelation in an interview with Variety on Sunday, saying: “During ‘Elvis,’ I didn’t see my family for about three years. I was prepping with Baz, and then I went to Australia [to film]. I had months where I wouldn’t talk to anybody. And when I did, the only thing I was ever thinking about was Elvis. I was speaking in his voice the whole time.”

Butler — who has just been nominated for Golden Globe for his role as the superstar singer — shot the film Down Under during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given Australia’s strict lockdown laws, it would have been extremely difficult for him to jet back to the US to see his family, who are based in California.

But the Hollywood heartthrob told Variety that he has no regrets, saying extraordinary sacrifices are sometimes “what it takes” to get a hit movie made.

It’s not the first time Butler has revealed how grueling it was to film “Elvis.”

Earlier this year, the Golden Globe nominee told VMAN magazine that he went home from the set “in tears” after Luhrmann encouraged other studio executives to heckle him as he was singing so that he could get “as close to performing as possible.”

“He [Luhrmann] brought them into the recording studio,” Butler recalled. “He goes, ‘I want you all to sit facing Austin,’ and he told them to heckle me. So then they were making fun of me and stuff while I was singing.”

Butler justified the director’s decision, saying: “When we were filming this moment, when Elvis first goes on stage and he’s getting heckled by the audience, I knew what that felt like… I went home in tears that night. I really did.”

Meanwhile, the hunky blonde told Variety that the entire “Elvis” experience has ultimately helped to bring him out of his comfort zone.

“I’ve only had a couple moments before filming “Elvis” where I danced in public, because I was very, very shy. I’d always be a wallflower at a party,” he said. “I didn’t sing ever. I’m a very shy person, so I didn’t sing at all.”