‘A Woman Under the Influence’: The John Cassavettes movie that inspired Austin Butler
Austin Butler has come a long, long way since his early days of starring on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon shows.
He’s now an Oscar-nominated actor thanks to his terrific performance as Elvis Presley, a project which saw him disappear so far into the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ that, even now, he’s still talking in Elvis Presley’s voice. This is a reminder of what sort of performer Butler really is. He might have cut his teeth on things like Ruby & the Rockits and The Carrie Diaries, but he is a dedicated, passionate actor who takes his craft very seriously.
Regarding his future roles, which include Dune Part 2 and the Steven Spielberg TV series Masters of the Air, Butler said, “I know that I would rather work less and be able to invest every bit of myself than to try to pack projects back-to-back and not be able to give everything. I’d rather go after things that really scare me, that cause me to go right to the edge of what I think is possible in myself. That’s what I want to go after.” If those words are anything to go by, his audacious portrayal of Presley is a sign of things to come.
In the same interview, Butler listed five films that inspired him, and he discussed each with an infectious, passionate enthusiasm that further showed just how much cinema and the art of acting really mean to him. One of the films he discussed was A Woman Under the Influence, written and directed by John Cassavetes. This is not a surprising inclusion as the film contains what is one of the most acclaimed acting performances of all time in the form of Gena Rowlands’ hauntingly powerful portrayal of a housewife battling mental illness.
Butler describes Rowland as a “force of nature” and further commented: “When you’re watching acting that doesn’t feel like acting – when it doesn’t even slightly feel like acting, it just feels like you’re a fly on the wall watching human beings – that’s the thing that I feel when I watch Cassavetes. And I want to work that way so badly.” He certainly won’t be the only performer to have been inspired by Rowlands’ work in A Woman Under the Influence, for it truly is the stuff of legend.
The other films that Butler listed were East of Eden, Raging Bull, Pulp Fiction and Magnolia. His highlighting of Pulp Fiction is significant given that he recently worked with Quentin Tarantino, giving a small but memorable performance as a Manson Family member in One Upon a Time in Hollywood. The other three selections, much like A Woman Under the Influence, are all incredible acting showcases filled with explosively powerful performances, so it’s not at all surprising to see Butler favour them.
Regarding East of Eden, James Dean is a favourite actor of Butler’s, and Butler was so taken with the film he is said to have watched it every day for a week. Hopefully, unlike James Dean, who tragically died very young, Butler has a long career ahead of him.
