Tom Hanks Helped Cast ‘Elvis’ Co-Star Austin Butler in ‘Masters of the Air’ in Order for Him to Avoid “Emotional Whiplash”

By Alex Vena
Published Aug. 15, 2023, 9:30 a.m. ET

Where to Stream:

Elvis (2022)

Powered by Reelgood

More On:

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks might have starred alongside Austin Butler‘s Elvis as his manipulative manager Colonel Tom Parker in Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis, but he was certainly looking out for his co-star’s wellbeing after they wrapped up the 2022 biopic.

Butler told the UK’s The Times that Hanks helped cast him in the upcoming Apple TV+ drama miniseries Masters of the Air in order to preserve his mental health after “immersing [him]self so deeply” in the role of Presley.

“You have immersed yourself so deeply in Elvis that, for your mental health, it would be wise to go straight into something else,” he shared. “If you just jump off the train, you might have emotional whiplash…and, you know, I’ve got this thing I’m producing,’” referring to Masters of the Air.

While he noted that his portrayal of Elvis  pushed him to “go to the very edge of what is possible,” he acknowledged that “not every experience will be like that.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever have an experience like that again, but if I have to really dig, it makes me feel alive,” he said.

Austin Butler in 'Elvis'
Photo: Everett Collection

Butler took an all-consuming approach to method acting when channeling his inner Elvis. In an interview with Variety, he revealed that he didn’t see his family for almost three years while filming, and was “speaking in [Elvis’] voice the whole time.” The Elvis voice, which he seemed to adopt for far past his time filming the biopic, practically became part of his “DNA,” according to Butler himself.

He told Yahoo! Australia that “certain situations trigger it.”

“That was the voice I spoke in for two years,” he continued. “It was so habitual. You get done and you kinda don’t remember what your natural voice is.”

As for Masters of the Air, Butler plays Major Gale Cleven in the nine-episode season based on Donald L. Miller’s book of the same name. The historic drama delves into the story of the American bomber boys who took part in the aerial wars during World War II.

While Masters of Air doesn’t have a confirmed release date just yet, you can watch Butler in Elvis on Max.