Austin Butler Says He's Grateful for Being a Child Actor: 'It Allowed Me a Lot of Time to Make Mistakes'

Austin Butler is currently earning rave reviews for his portrayal of Elvis but long before the Oscar nomination for the role, the actor got his start in parts on the Disney channel and Nickelodeon.

Today, the Golden Globe winner, 31, says he is thankful for the lessons he learned at the start of his career and credits those early roles for getting him where he is today.

"I am grateful I started young because it allowed me a lot of time to make mistakes. I had so many years of really bad acting," he says. "And I still have so much to learn, but that's what really excites me about acting is that you, it's like anything, you can improve, and you can get better. It excites me to think about 10 years from now how I will have grown and how you can continually try to find more truth."

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Butler says that growing up as a kid in Anaheim he was influenced by films such Raging Bull and East of Eden starring James Dean. "I remember watching that [movie] every day for a week. I was obsessed with James Dean."

To prepare for the role of Elvis, the actor says he poured his heart into researching the King.

"I had the great fun of feeling like a detective the whole time, just trying to unearth who he was as a human being," says Butler adding that one of the greatest gifts was, "getting to meet Elvis's incredible family, and all the time that we've been able to spend together when nobody's around. All those quiet moments that I will always cherish."

Tune into the Oscars live on ABC on March 12 at 8pm ET.