Austin Butler as Elvis Presley made Riley Keough cry for a week; here's why

Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, recently opened up about seeing Austin Butler as the classic rockstar. The 33-year-old actor praised Austin Butler’s performance in the film Elvis. The Daisy Jones & the Six star said that Butler’s performance was “outstanding and incredible” and that she "couldn't have imagined" anyone else playing the role.  

Keough spoke about Austin Butler’s performance in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis while being in an interview on Live With Kelly and Ryan. Riley Keough’s approval of Butler’s performance comes after her late mother Lisa Marie Presley, who gave her blessing to the biopic previously. Keough said that she was “in tears for a week” after watching the film. 

"I think he was outstanding and incredible. I couldn't have imagined anyone being able to pull off what he did in terms of embodying my grandfather. It was really shocking and emotional. It totally blew me away. I was in tears for a week because of the film, but also because of his performance.”

Elvis is in the Oscar race with eight nominations

Austin Butler’s performance as Elvis Presley in the film has earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The film was released to critical acclaim, and subsequently received a total of eight Oscar nominations, including Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Film Editing, Best Sound and Best Picture. 

Elvis is competing with James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fabelmans, Top Gun: Maverick,  All Quiet on the Western Front and Tár for the top Academy Award of Best Picture.