Austin Butler Confirms Ex Vanessa Hudgens Convinced Him to Take on ‘Elvis’ Role

Austin Butler’s career-making role in Elvis is still making waves, nearly nine months after the film was released. As one of the buzziest movies of the year, Elvis showed critics and fans what Butler was capable of — and the actor’s peers are recognizing his work with honor after honor.

Butler dove deep in order to portray the king of rock and roll, studying the rocker’s movements, voice, and singing skills. However, long before Butler was racking up awards, he was a struggling actor trying to find his big break — and in a recent interview, Butler confirmed that the oft-referenced “friend” that he’s discussed in interviews as telling him to go after the part is his ex, Vanessa Hudgens.

Austin Butler has been nominated for an Academy Award for his role in ‘Elvis’

Butler’s performance in Elvis has been praised by everyone from Presley’s own family to renowned critics. The film, and Butler himself, have won multiple awards in recent months, with the young actor walking away with a Golden Globe Award for his work in the movie. Most recently, Butler was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Elvis. All eyes are on Butler, to see if he will score the coveted award at the March 12 ceremony.

Prior to Elvis, Butler was best known as a Disney Channel performer, with a few high-profile roles in movies like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Butler has admitted that his confidence in his own abilities wasn’t great, which is why he needed an extra push in order to pursue the role of Elvis Presley.

Austin Butler recently confirmed that Vanessa Hudgens pushed him to try out for the role in ‘Elvis’

Over the past few months, Butler has often been asked who convinced him to reach out to Baz Luhrmann about the role in Elvis. The actor has consistently noted that “a friend” encouraged him to pursue the role, although he’s remained cagey about naming the friend in question. However, in a recent interview with the LA Times, Butler confirmed that the friend was his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens.

“I was with my partner at the time,” Butler told the publication, referencing his oft-repeated story about his friend telling him to play Presley after he sang along to a Christmas tune several years ago. “We’d been together for so long and she had this sort of clairvoyant moment and so I really, I owe her a lot for believing in me,” Butler said. 

How long did Austin Butler and Vanessa Hudgens date?

Hudgens and Butler didn’t go the distance, breaking up in 2020, but they were together for many years. According to People Magazine, they were first linked in 2011, when both actors were up-and-coming Disney Channel performers. Over the years, Hudgens and Butler were spotted together many times, from low-key ice cream dates to fabulous red carpet events. Hudgens, who is very active on social media, often shared pictures of Butler, raving about their sweet relationship and praising Butler for being so supportive and loving.

While it’s unclear just why Butler and Hudgens opted to call it quits in 2020, it didn’t take long for either one to move on. These days, Butler is dating model Kaia Gerber, while Hudgens is engaged to baseball player Cole Tucker. So, while Butler and Hudgens didn’t find their happily-ever-after with each other, they are in good places today.