'Showboating' Elvis star Austin Butler lacked 'lazy orgasmic eye' and sexual charisma'

Elvis star Austin Butler didn’t come close to nailing the King’s “sexual charisma” and “lazy orgasmic eye” on screen.

That’s according to a body language expert who says the young actor was more like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever than the one and only Elvis Presley in his pelvis thrusting pomp.

Butler, who plays Elvis in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic, has won rave reviews for his portrayal of the star, but he’s failed to impress Judi James, who looked specifically at his moves.

The actor, 30, took on one of the most sought-after roles in Hollywood when he was chosen to play Elvis.

But Judi wasn’t impressed after watching the movie, saying he lacked Elvis’ “sexual charisma” and his dancing was “too good”.

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Speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, she said that Elvis had charisma and sexual signalling which were unique to him and could never be copied.

“Although God knows, many thousands have tried, from films like this one to ‘tribute’ performances in pubs and bars around the country,” she said.

“Austin Butler might be a huge success in Elvis, but as impersonations go his body language looks like a tribute to John Travolta rather than The King.

“His large, vulnerable eyes and his professional-level, high energy dance routines put him directly in line for any re-make of Saturday Night Fever, but he fails to nail the very specific and personal appeal of a younger Elvis.

“Elvis always looked like a man who was totally comfortable in his own skin. He also looked like a guy who was sharing a vast joke with his audience and he could turn his sexual signals on or off at any given time.

“His sexual signals were all about the appearance of laziness – his eyes were often half closed and his smile was more like a sardonic sneer.

“He managed to dance in a way that drove fans into a frenzy but always without looking as though he was putting in too much effort.

“That famous hip movement looked natural rather than a frenzied dance step he’d be practicing in a studio or in front of his bedroom mirror.

“He never seemed to be showboating and, unlike Austin’s fantastic dancing in the movie, Elvis’ movement to his own music always looked more like an expression of congruent sexuality rather than choreography.”

Judi went on, saying Elvis’ charisma was so strong it could never be copied or re-created by an actor.

“Elvis’s charisma was head and shoulders above anyone who ever tried to copy him,” she said.

“He shared a huge joke with his audience and he kept a tuned-in connection with them whatever he was doing.

“It might be the naughty grin or the way he would start to giggle in the middle of one of his songs, or his sensual, lazy-orgasmic eye expression, it all appeared aimed at people as individuals, which is why so many fans felt they knew him personally.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk