During a Tuesday (Feb. 28) appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan, Riley Keough explained why Austin Butler's on-screen portrayal of her grandfather, Elvis Presley, in the Oscar-nominated film Elvis "totally blew me away."
Videos by Wide Open Country
"I couldn't have imagined anyone being able to pull off what he did in terms of embodying my grandfather," Keough said. "It was really shocking and emotional."
Keough added that she was "just so in awe of what he did" that she sent Butler a message while leaving the movie theater.
"I'd never met him, but I texted him the minute I got out of the theater," she said, adding that Butler responded with his own kind words.
"I think he said something along the lines of, 'That means so much to me that you and your family feel that way'," she continued. "I can't remember, but I was in tears for like a week because of the film, but also because of his performance."
Butler's gratitude for the whole family references the vocal support he's received from Keough's grandmother, Priscilla Presley, and mother, the late Lisa Marie Presley.
Keough explained that while most others' portrayals of Presley were nothing more than a "caricature," Butler was able to "capture the humanity" of a pop culture icon.
Butler contends for Best Actor at the 2023 Academy Awards, which air Sun., March 12 on ABC at 8 p.m. EST. The film itself is up for seven Oscars: Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Film Editing and Best Sound.
Keough is promoting her own starring role in a music-themed drama. Daisy Jones and the Six premieres March 3 on Amazon Prime. It's set in the '70s and based on a novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
