'SNL': 'Elvis' star Austin Butler pays emotional tribute to late mum in opening monologue
Dec 19, 2022
Washington [US], December 19 : The season finale of 'SNL' aka 'Saturday Night Live' began with host Austin Butler heartbreakingly recalling watching the late-night comedy programme with his late mother, Lori Anne Howell.
"I love my mom, some of my favourite memories from growing up was watching 'SNL' every week," and even though he had this "crippling shyness," he would do anything to make her laugh -- including an imitation of Gollum from "Lord of the Rings."
It was his desire to become an actor that "broke me out of my shell," he claimed, and being foolish with her was "what did it."
According to Variety, a US-based news outlet, Butler, who got his start as a child actor on both Nickelodeon and Disney Channel show, played Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's hit biopic, 'Elvis.'
"Now, my mother is no longer with us, but I have been thinking about her a lot this week, just imagining of how proud she would be that her son is now standing on this stage," Butler said, choking up.
"Any time you see me doing a funny voice or making a funny face, that is for you mom," he said.
Butler also quipped that he grew up in Anaheim, California, thus the "Southern accent," and that he sounded like Elvis Presley all the time.
"I do want to address something. There's people out there who say that ever since I've played Elvis my voice has changed -- that it got deeper, more Elvis-y," he said. "But that's not true, I've always sounded like this and I can prove it. Here's a clip from an interview I did 10 years ago."
Butler also discussed how "weird" it was to grow up homeschooled with his sister, Ashley, who was attending to celebrate her birthday.
"A lot of people don't know that I've been acting since I was a kid," he said, "studying 'Raging Bull' or 'Taxi Driver.'"
NBC had earlier in the evening revealed that Strong's final episode would air on December 17.
In addition to Michael Che and Colin Jost, "Saturday Night Live" also features Kenan Thompson, Cecily Strong, Mikey Day, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman, Punkie Johnson, Andrew Dismukes, and others as the Weekend Update hosts. James Austin Johnson, Sarah Sherman, Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker are all prominent actors in the ensemble. The show's chief writers are Streeter Seidell, Alison Gates, and Kent Sublette, and Liz Patrick is the show's director.
