Elvis Presley’s Stepbrother Criticized the Austin Butler Led Biopic for Making Elvis Look Like a ‘Wimp’

Baz Lurhman’s 2022 film Elvis did a great deal for Austin Butler’s career. He received an Oscar nomination for the role and has gone on to star in a number of other films. While the film received good reviews, there’s at least one viewer who had major problems with it. Elvis Presley’s stepbrother, David Stanley, said he didn’t like the way the film depicted the singer or his manager.

Elvis Presley’s stepbrother criticized the Austin Butler led biopic

After Elvis’ mother died, his father married another woman and took in her child, Stanley. Stanley lived at Graceland from the age of four and spent a great deal of time with Elvis during his residency in Las Vegas. He knew Elvis and his entourage well, and said Lurhman’s film disappointed him. He took particular issue with the way the film depicted Colonel Tom Parker.

“I was disappointed and ashamed, because they made it about Colonel Parker,” Stanley said, per Express. “Hollywood made him the villain. He was a tough businessman but he wasn’t the animal that that film depicted him to be. I knew Colonel Parker from the time I was 4 years old until the day he died. He was a businessman and was very serious about what he did.”

While he said he didn’t agree with all of the controversial manager’s business decisions, he didn’t think he deserved to be portrayed as a villain. He also disliked the way the film depicted his stepbrother.

“They were a good partnership and a good pair,” he said. “Shame on Hollywood for depicting Colonel Parker as the devil and making Elvis look like a wimp.”

Still, Stanley didn’t think the film was all bad. 

“I thought the recreations of the Elvis scenes were good, y’know the concert stuff,” he said. “I thought the kid [Austin Butler] who played Elvis was good. Nobody is Elvis.”

The singer’s stepbrother said he liked ‘Priscilla’

Surprisingly, Stanley was a much bigger fan of the way the film Priscilla depicted Elvis. The Sofia Coppola film was an adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s book Elvis and Me, and did not show the singer in a particularly positive light. 

“People dislike [Priscilla] because of her story,” Stanley said. “I saw the movie. I’m one of the few that know what really happened and I thought she was right on.”

Elvis’ daughter, Lisa Marie, spoke out against the film, and his estate did not allow the film to use his songs. 

“Lisa only knew her dad until she was 9 years old,” Stanley said. “Her mother was there a lot longer. I was there a lot longer.”

Austin Butler said playing Elvis Presley took over his life

Butler spent two years working on Elvis. He threw himself into the role, even struggling to shake the accent after filming wrapped. On Today, he said he “didn’t know what to do with himself” after he moved on from the role.

“For two years, it was my whole life,” he said. “After, I needed to take some time to remember who I was.”

Butler said he has since moved away from method acting, which he used while filming Elvis.