Austin Butler as Elvis Presley: Meet the woman who taught the Oscar nominee to move like The King
When Elvis star Austin Butler arrived at this year’s BAFTA Awards, it wasn’t his model girlfriend Kaia Gerber who accompanied the actor as his plus-one.
Instead, Butler attended the ceremony with Polly Bennett, the movement coach who spent months working with the star to help him transform into The King.
When the camera panned to his seat after his name was called out as the winner of this year’s best actor award, it was Bennett he was hugging; on stage, she was his first thank you very much: “I could not have done this without you and I love you so much.”
Pic: Warner Bros
Bennett, a British movement director and choreographer who is based in London, is the go-to woman for transformations when actors need to portray very famous real-life people.
After working on the London 2012 Olympics and later as an assistant choreographer for Steve Coogan and John C Reilly for 2018’s Stan & Ollie, she landed the job as the chief movement coach behind Rami Malek‘s Oscar-winning portrayal of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Taking on the royals for The Crown soon followed, and this year she completed her “musical icon trilogy” with British actress Naomi Ackie’s metamorphosis into Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
With millions watching their every move, actors are used to being scrutinised, critiqued and criticised. But playing an icon, knowing your performance is going to be compared with the much-worshipped real thing, is perhaps one of the hardest jobs in the business.
“I think it’s a massive task because people have such an affiliation for Elvis,” Bennett tells Sky News. “People know him, people know the performances, so it didn’t slide past either of us that it was quite a big deal.”
‘Imagine you’ve got a mosquito on the back of your knee…’
Pic: Ruby Bell
Bennett’s planned six months working with Butler for the Baz Luhrmann production, which was filmed in Australia, ended up turning into a year-and-a-half, on and off, in part due to breaks during the pandemic. They worked together for several hours every day.
The Butler she met before their rehearsals started was “a really musical guy” already; he played the piano, had played guitar to a certain level, “and was a sort of closet singer”. The groundwork was there. They practised swing and tap dancing to get the feel of Presley, and recited his lyrics as poetry.
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We have met at a dance studio in central London, and Bennett demonstrates her methods for conveying movements to make them real. It’s not simply “shake your hand”, but “reach out to show off your wedding ring” and shake “as if you’re taking off a glove”. For the Elvis leg shake: “I’d like you to imagine you’ve got a little mosquito on the back of your kneecap. So it’s not coming from your hip, it’s coming from your knee.”
This is where it all comes from, she says. “There’s so many ‘isms’ that people think [Elvis] does, and it’s all based in a truth, it’s all based in an understanding of something. But actually, the more footage I watched, the more research I did, the more books I read, the more interviews I saw… actually, it’s not really his hips that are the first thing that move, it’s his feet, it’s his knees.”
No copying allowed
(L-R) Rami Malek, Bennett and Butler at the BAFTAs. Pic: Greg Williams
Luhrmann’s Elvis charts the singer from his teenage years until his death at the age of 42, so Butler, now 31, had to learn different Presleys as he aged. “We had to keep him flexible in that sense because the filming schedule was out of sequence. He’d be in the ’50s one day and then the next day he would be in a jumpsuit [in the early ’70s] on stage.”
Bennett also used Presley’s heritage to teach Butler. “His mum used to tap dance and do the shuffles and the bops in their house. That’s what Elvis grew up around – a mum who was quite effervescent, and moved. So rather than just looking at one piece of footage and going, that’s how he moves now, it’s trying to rewind and go, where did he get this from? That’s so much more helpful for an actor than just copying.
“We’re trying to understand the difference between imitation and embodying. And obviously Austin, as much as he tried, isn’t an exact replica of Elvis; his arms are different lengths, his body is a different shape. So you have to try and find the essence of a person rather than try and do everything exact, because everything exact actually doesn’t sit right in Austin’s body.”
‘I made Rami walk up and down Oxford Street with his mic’
Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, and Naomi Ackie (below) as Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance With Somebody. Pics: 20th Century Fox/Sony Pictures
Working with Butler was different to Malek, who was not such a natural mover. “We had to do a lot of work of just understanding music, hearing beats in music, hearing accents, being able to hear the half counts… at that point he wasn’t a performer that had ever been on stage himself. So I made Rami walk up and down Oxford Street with his microphone above his head, while he was training, to get him used to the idea of people looking at him, and wanting people to look at him.”
Mercury boxed as a child, she says, which is reflected in the way he performed. “[I said to Rami], what do you see in his stage performances that feels similar to that? And Rami was like, ‘he does the fist raises’. He’s not just doing it because it feels good, he’s doing it because it’s something that he’s worked on his whole life.”
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Naomi Ackie on her transformation into Whitney Houston
Ackie’s transformation into Houston was just as impressive, says Bennett, despite the film falling a little under the radar in comparison with the other two. They worked on her background as a gospel singer and also the fact she was a tomboy growing up, very different to the glamorous superstar people came to know.
“When she was a kid, she didn’t wear dresses, she was wearing dungarees and hanging out with her brothers, and she was exposed to drugs very early. We spoke a lot about a boy in a dress, as Whitney. So the idea that she was a little boy, and she’d put a dress on, so she’s sort of acting feminine, rather than inherently being what we understand as feminine.”
Will Butler win the Oscar?
Pic: Warner Bros
With a BAFTA and a Golden Globe already under his rhinestone belt, Butler could well find himself following in Malek’s footsteps and making a winner’s speech on Oscars night, too (it appears to be a two-horse race between him and The Whale actor Brendan Fraser).
Win or lose, Bennett says she is proud of what they have achieved. “I mean, the fact that there’s nobody going, ‘he doesn’t look like Elvis’ or ‘he doesn’t sound like Elvis,” she laughs. “It’s quite nice that we’ve achieved that for the fans, for the family, and for the people involved in telling the story.”
For an actor playing a real person, those behind-the-scenes roles – the hair and make-up artists and vocal trainers, as well as movement coaches – play a huge part in winning those awards.
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Bennett agrees and laughs. “I’m not trying to go, look at me, look at all the amazing things I’ve done. But I do love the idea of people being recognised for the work they do, because it’s not just people out there on their own, watching YouTube late at night, thinking about how to play Elvis Presley.
“It was amazing to go with [Butler] as his guest to the BAFTAs because that’s also him acknowledging that people in my position – choreographers, movement directors – we don’t have awards, we’re not part of that circuit.” She pauses and gives a wry smile. “Which is a shame.”
You can watch the Academy Awards on Sunday 12 March from 11pm exclusively on Sky News and Sky Showcase. And for everything you need to know ahead of the ceremony, don’t miss our special Backstage podcast available on Friday morning, plus a winners special episode from Monday morning
Entertainment
Appeal to bring manslaughter charge against Alec Baldwin over 2021 Rust shooting dropped by prosecutor
Alec Baldwin will not appear again in court for involuntary manslaughter over a fatal shooting on the set of Rust after New Mexico prosecutors dropped their appeal.
The trial against him earlier this year collapsed after just three days over testimony that prosecutors had withheld potential evidence from the defence.
Baldwin was holding a gun which went off on the set in New Mexico in 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
The 66-year-old, an actor and co-producer on the film, denied ever pulling the trigger and said he had been directed to aim it at a camera.
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From July: Baldwin case dismissed by judge
After the trial had ended, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey filed an appeal and claimed the case was “improperly dismissed” by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.
The state’s district attorney’s office said on Monday that while it still strongly disagreed with the judge’s decision, it “did not intend to exhaustively pursue the appeal”.
Local prosecutors added: “As a result, the State’s efforts to continue to litigate the case in a fair and comprehensive manner have been met with multiple barriers that have compromised its ability to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”
Baldwin’s lawyers Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said the decision “is the final vindication of what Alec Baldwin and his attorneys have said from the beginning – this was an unspeakable tragedy but Alec Baldwin committed no crime”.
It means Judge Marlowe Sommer’s original ruling – that the case accusing Baldwin of involuntary manslaughter has been dismissed and cannot be filed again – stands.
Kari Morrissey was told the Attorney General’s office ‘did not intend to exhaustively pursue’ the case. Pic: Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via Reuters
The case collapsed when Baldwin’s defence team learnt the Santa Fe sheriff’s office had taken possession of live rounds as potential evidence on the same day the film’s armourer, Hannah Gutierrez, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Investigators did not list these live rounds in the Rust file and they were not disclosed to defence lawyers, prompting a motion to dismiss the case.
After Mr Spiro claimed evidence had been concealed on day three of the trial, Ms Morrissey called herself as a witness and said the ammunition was not connected to the case.
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In a bizarre moment, Mr Spiro put it to Ms Morrissey during questioning that she simply did not “like Mr Baldwin very much”.
After she replied “that is absolutely untrue” and praised his acting and politics, Mr Spiro told the court that she had referred to the actor as a “c*********” and an “arrogant p****” to witnesses. She said she did not recall this.
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From July: Watch extraodinary moment in Baldwin case
Dismissing the trial, Judge Marlowe Sommer found the prosecution’s conduct on the live rounds was “highly prejudicial” to Baldwin and there was “no way for the court to right this wrong”.
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What texts and messages Blake Lively’s legal complaint against It Ends With Us co-star show
Documents from actress Blake Lively’s legal complaint about her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni claim to show how his PR team deliberately “planted pieces of how horrible Blake is to work with” in the press and on social media.
The legal complaint, filed to the California Civil Rights Department on Friday, contains pages of text messages allegedly sent between Baldoni and his PR team.
Lively, 37, claims that Baldoni, 40, who is also the director of the film, hired crisis PR management to engage in a “multi-tiered” plan to damage her reputation after she and her husband Ryan Reynolds, 48, complained of “repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour” on set of the movie.
Lively at the UK gala screening for the film on 8 August. Pic: AP
A lawyer representing Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios says the allegations are “completely false, outrage and intentionally salacious”.
He adds that the studio and its PR team “did nothing proactive nor retaliated” against Lively – and that it hired crisis PR managers “due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms Lively during production”.
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Blake Lively on being an actor and producer
The text messages, which Lively says she acquired through a subpoena, involve exchanges between Jennifer Abel, of PR firm RWA Communications, Melissa Nathan, of The Agency Group PR, and Baldoni.
They include:
- Details of two quotes of PR packages – one costing “£175k” for a “3-4 month period” including “full reddit, full social account take downs”;
- Another PR package costing “$25k per month” for “min 3 months” that includes “creation of social fan engagement to go back and forth with any negative accounts, helping to change the narrative and stay on track”;
- Baldoni asking Ms Abel “What is the TikTok strategy” and saying “I’d like you guys to start posting me ONLY talking about domestic violence and clips and why this movie is so important”;
- Ms Abel telling Ms Nathan she was “having reckless thoughts of wanting to plant pieces this week of how horrible Blake is to work with”;
- Ms Abel saying: “The narrative online is so freaking good and fans are still sticking up for Justin” and telling Ms Nathan “you did such amazing work”;
- Ms Nathan telling Ms Abel: “The majority of socials are so pro Justin and I don’t even agree with half of them lol”;
- Ms Nathan replying to Ms Abel: “Narrative is CRAZY good”;
- Ms Nathan telling Ms Abel: “We can’t write it down to him… We can’t write we will destroy her”;
- Ms Nathan adding: “you know we can bury anyone”;
- Ms Nathan saying to Ms Abel: “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill her and send her in a box to your house”, to which Abel replies: “DAMNIT”;
- Ms Nathan telling Ms Abel socials are “really really ramping up”, to which Ms Abel adds: “It’s actually sad because it just shows you have people really want to hate on women”.
The text messages appear to date between 15 May and 18 August this year. It Ends With Us was released on 9 August.
In one other exchange, Baldoni expresses concerns his PR team may have been deploying fake “bots” to “take her [Lively] down” on social media, to which Ms Nathan replies: “I can fully confirm we do not have bots.”
The legal documents also include the alleged list of conditions Lively submitted for her “returning to production” after she alleged sexual harassment on set.
They include “no one entering… BL’s trailer while she is in a state of undress” and “no discussions of personal experience with sex or nudity”.
Lively’s legal complaint claims Baldoni “abruptly pivoted away from” the film’s marketing plan and “used domestic violence ‘survivor content’ to protect his public image” after the sexual harassment allegations came out.
Baldoni at the world premiere in New York on 6 August. Pic: AP
Baldoni brands Lively’s claims ‘shameful’
Mr Freedman, representing Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios, says in his statement: “It is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorically false accusations against Mr. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and its representatives, as yet another desperate attempt to ‘fix’ her negative reputation which was garnered from her own remarks and actions during the campaign for the film; interviews and press activities that were observed publicly, in real time and unedited, which allowed for the internet to generate their own views and opinions.
“These claims are completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious with an intent to publicly hurt and rehash a narrative in the media. Wayfarer Studios made the decision to proactively hire a crisis manager prior to the marketing campaign of the film, to work alongside their own representative with Jonesworks employed by Stephanie Jones, due to the multiple demands and threats made by Ms. Lively during production which included her threatening to not showing up to set, threatening to not promote the film, ultimately leading to its demise during release, if her demands were not met.
“It was also discovered that Ms. Lively enlisted her own representative, Leslie Sloan with Vision PR, who also represents Mr. Reynolds, to plant negative and completely fabricated and false stories with media, even prior to any marketing had commenced for the film, which was another reason why Wayfarer Studios made the decision to hire a crisis professional to commence internal scenario planning in the case they needed to address.
“The representatives of Wayfarer Studios still did nothing proactive nor retaliated, and only responded to incoming media inquiries to ensure balanced and factual reporting and monitored social activity. What is pointedly missing from the cherry-picked correspondence is the evidence that there were no proactive measures taken with media or otherwise; just internal scenario planning and private correspondence to strategize which is standard operating procedure with public relations professionals.”
Lively says in a statement to the New York Times: “I hope that my legal action helps pull back the curtain on these sinister retaliatory tactics to harm people who speak up about misconduct and helps protect others who may be targeted.”
The August release of It Ends With Us, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling 2016 novel, was shrouded by speculation over discord between the lead pair.
Baldoni took a backseat in promoting the film while Lively took centre stage along with Reynolds, who was on the press circuit for Deadpool & Wolverine at the same time.
Sky News has contacted Jessica Abel and RWA Communications for comment.
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