Austin Butler honored the late Lisa Marie Presley after his best actor win at the 2023 BAFTA Awards for Elvis

Even after his most recent award-season victory, Austin Butler is still in grief for the late Lisa Marie Presley. With Lisa Marie's untimely passing at the age of 54 in January, Butler, 31, said his award for best actor (for Elvis) at the 2023 BAFTA Awards on Sunday came at a "bittersweet time." After winning, Butler told reporters in the press room, "It's been a really unimaginably tragic time, you know, and grief is a long process," according to Variety. "And so my heart and my love was with [the Presleys] always." He continued, "I feel honored to have been welcomed into the family. It's a bittersweet time." Furthermore, Butler discussed his luck "to get to have that experience" to portray Elvis Presley in the biopic Elvis, for which he has since received a Golden Globe and a BAFTA award leading up to March's Oscars, in conversation with reporters. Butler also spoke of the experience of filming the movie. He stated: "The feeling of standing on an international stage and looking out and looking down at the jumpsuit that I was wearing and realizing there were certain moments where I was seeing the closest thing to what Elvis would have seen during his '68 Special or whatever that was and I miss it a lot. I miss that experience." Also read: Avatar: The Way of Water surpassed Titanic and became the third highest-grossing movie ever [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Image credit: Harper's BAZAAR Australia[/caption]

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During a recent interview with PEOPLE at the 95th annual Oscar nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills, California, Austin Butler claimed that he and Lisa Marie Presley "bonded very, very fast." He continued, "And all those special moments of just getting to share life with her, I'll treasure that forever." On another note, a short time after the Oscar nominations were announced on January 24, the actor went on Today with Hoda and Jenna and described his nomination for the role as "sort of a bittersweet moment right now in light of Lisa Marie's passing. The actor stated, "It's sort of a bittersweet moment right now because I think of how much I wish she was here right now to get to celebrate with me. It's the same thing I feel with Elvis; I wish that they could see these moments, you know?" Butler also added, "It's just sort of strange to celebrate at a time of such deep grief. But I sort of think of it as a way to honor her. This is for her."