For his audition tape,
Austin Butler originally recorded himself singing "Love Me Tender." When he watched it, he felt like it was an Elvis impersonation, and refused to submit it. A few days later, he had a nightmare that his deceased mother was dying again. Overwhelmed with grief and with the Elvis audition still on his mind, he decided to pour his emotion into music. Thinking of the lyrics to "Unchained Melody," he remembered, "I always take it for granted that that's to a romantic partner, [but] what if I sing that to my mom?" He sat down at the piano in his bathrobe and filmed it. "And that way of channeling those emotions just felt true," the actor said. The video immediately caught director
Baz Luhrmann's attention, as he was both confused and intrigued. Luhrmann stated, "Was it an audition? Or was he having a breakdown?" The director expressed that the audition felt like a spycam. Luhrmann asked to meet with Butler and eventually gave him the part.
