What happens after you spend nearly three years of your life studying and acting as Elvis Presley? If you’re “Elvis” leading star Austin Butler, your body shuts down almost immediately and you’re sent to the hospital. The actor told GQ magazine that he was diagnosed with a virus that hospitalized him the day after he wrapped production on Baz Luhrmann’s music biopic. The virus simulated appendicitis and left Butler bedridden for one week.

“The next day [after filming wrapped] I woke up at four in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to hospital,” Butler said. “My body just started shutting down the day after I finished ‘Elvis.’”

Butler was officially cast as Elvis in July 2019 after he auditioned for Luhrmann with a haunting rendition of “Unchained Melody.” Once the actor started immersing himself in the life and music of Elvis Presley, he didn’t stop. Filming on...