Austin Butler Says He Was “Rushed to Hospital” After Filming Elvis Biopic: "My Body Just Started Shutting Down"

Austin Butler was rushed to hospital in "excruciating pain" just a day after he finished work on new movie Elvis.

The actor, 30, who portrays the late Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's new movie musical, revealed that his body "started shutting down" less than 24 hours after wrapping on set and he was treated for a virus that mimics the symptoms of appendicitis.

In the June issue of British GQ, Butler said: "I woke up at four in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to hospital. My body just started shutting down the day after I finished Elvis."

The movie, which just had its world premiere at Cannes, tells the story of The King's rise to fame, and Butler admitted he totally lost himself in the character as he immersed himself in the world of Elvis Presley.

He added: "You can lose touch with who you actually are. And I definitely had that when I finished Elvis — not knowing who I was ...

"His mother passed away when he was 23, and my mum passed away when I was 23, so when I learned that, it was one of those things where I got chills, and I just thought, Okay, I can connect to that."

Butler also got the chance to meet Presley's ex-wife Priscilla Presley and said the encounter left him in tears.

He explained: "She looked like an angel, I walked down the hall with Baz afterwards with tears in my eyes."

While he may have wrapped filming on the biopic, Butler still feels connected to the 'Jailhouse Rock' hitmaker.

He said: “It’s comforting to me now, when I get in the car. I’ll just go, ‘What do I want to listen to?’ Usually, I just end up popping on Elvis, I’ve never loved somebody I’ve never met more than Elvis.”

Elvis opens in Singapore cinemas on June 23.  — BANG SHOWBIZ 

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos