Austin Butler’s career didn’t explode overnight – his rise has been a slow burn, marked by deliberate choices and an intensity that’s set him apart from his teen-idol beginnings. The California native first made a name for himself on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, but it was his magnetic, Oscar-nominated turn as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 biopic that pushed him onto Hollywood’s A-list. After years spent largely out of the spotlight, suddenly everyone was asking: Who is Austin Butler?
Digging into Butler’s story, it’s clear that his transformation wasn’t accidental. He distanced himself from his early, more lightweight roles, instead opting for projects that challenged him and hinted at the depth he could bring as a performer. When Elvis came along, Butler didn’t just dip his toes in; he cannonballed, completely immersing himself in the character for over two years. Living in Australia during the pandemic, he worked intensively – so much so that he found himself still speaking in Elvis’s signature drawl months after filming wrapped. Even his co-stars were taken aback by the sheer commitment he brought to the set.
“The preparation was unlike anything I’d done before,” he told The New York Times, sounding both candid and a bit awestruck by the scale of the challenge. “There were moments of real doubt, wondering if I was going to fail spectacularly. That fear drove me to work harder.”
Finding Balance in Fame
Now, with all eyes on him, Butler seems to be navigating fame on his own terms. In an era when celebrities often share every detail of their lives online, he stands out for his absence – no official Instagram, no Twitter. For someone his age and level of fame, it’s striking, and feels less like aloofness and more like a conscious choice to keep his personal life his own.
Of course, that hasn’t stopped the public from speculating. His long relationship with actress Vanessa Hudgens – nearly a decade together – became tabloid fodder, especially when the pair broke up in 2020 just as Butler was beginning his intense preparation for Elvis. It was, by all accounts, a tumultuous period of change. “It was a time of tremendous personal and professional change,” he told GQ in 2022. “When you’re transforming for a role while your real life is also transforming… there’s no roadmap for that.”
After the breakup, Butler began dating model Kaia Gerber in late 2021. The couple kept things low-key despite being photographed at major events, rarely speaking about each other in interviews. By early 2023, reports surfaced that they’d broken up – though, as with much of Butler’s private life, the details remain mostly his own.
Naturally, Hollywood rumors have swirled, linking him to co-stars like Elvis actress Olivia DeJonge, but Butler seems more interested in letting his work speak than feeding the gossip machine. His approach to relationships – and fame in general – feels deliberate: a steady hand on the wheel, and a focus on the work itself.
As Butler’s career keeps gaining speed, with high-profile projects like Dune: Part Two and The Bikeriders on the horizon, he seems to have figured out how to move through the often chaotic industry on his own terms. Despite playing one of the most flamboyant figures in music history, there’s a quietness and deliberateness to the way he carries himself. “At the end of the day,” he told Variety, “I’m just trying to find truth in whatever character I’m playing. Everything else is noise.”
Past Relationships
Zoë Kravitz
Kaia Gerber
Lily-Rose Depp
Olivia DeJonge
Vanessa Hudgens
Cody Kennedy
Whether he’s evading the trappings of celebrity or simply letting his work do the talking, Austin Butler, for now, seems content to leave a little mystery behind and stay focused on what comes next.