Golden Globes 2023: Austin Butler channels Elvis Presley voice as he accepts award

Watch: Austin Butler can't shake his Elvis voice

Viewers of the Golden Globes were left baffled and amused by the fact Austin Butler appeared to accept his award for playing Elvis Presley in the rock n roll legend's voice.

The 31-year-old star won the award for Best Actor - Drama at the ceremony on Tuesday night for his lead performance in Baz Luhrmann's musical biopic Elvis.

Read more: How historically accurate is the Elvis biopic?

Butler beat the hotly-tipped Brendan Fraser in The Whale to the award, as well as Hugh Jackman for The Son, Bill Nighy for Living and Jeremy Pope for The Inspection.

The star delivered a lengthy speech from the stage of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in which he thanked the Presley family as well as his co-stars and director.

He also offered special words of thanks to Denzel Washington for "your kindness and thank you for your generosity in championing me when you did not have to".

During the latter part of the speech, Butler referenced the music being piped in to play him off the stage and quipped that they "could at least play Suspicious Minds or something".

Read more: Priscilla Presley praises "unbelievable" Austin Butler

But it was his accent that caught the attention of viewers, with more than a trace of Presley's distinctive Mississippi drawl in the voice of the California-born actor as he spoke.

In a red carpet interview with Access Hollywood before the ceremony, Butler addressed the fact his accent has noticeably shifted since he immersed himself in the role of Elvis.

"I liken it to when, if you live in another country for a long time or that sort of thing, you end up soaking in many things and it becomes a part of your DNA in a way," he said.

Read more: How do the stars of Elvis compare to their real-life counterparts?

But viewers watching the Globes were still confused, with one writing that they are "convinced Austin Butler was hit in the head while filming Elvis and now he can only do that accent".

Others stated that Butler was simply "committed to the bit" and was maintaining this accent throughout the movie's awards season run.

Elvis was nominated for three awards in total at the Golden Globes, with the movie also shortlisted for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Luhrmann nominated for Best Director.

In both of those categories, the movie was beaten by Steven Spielberg's clear Oscar frontrunner — semi-autobiographical drama The Fabelmans.

Read more: Full list of winners from the Golden Globes 2023

The Fabelmans and Everything Everywhere All at Once both scooped two awards at the Globes, with Martin McDonagh's dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin winning the night with three prizes.

Over on the TV side, there were big wins for the likes of House of the Dragon, Abbott Elementary and The White Lotus, while Zendaya won an acting gong for Euphoria.

Watch: Trailer for Elvis