Austin Butler Honors Lisa Marie Presley After BAFTA Awards Win: 'Grief Is a Long Process'

Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock Austin Butler and Lisa Marie Presley on Jan. 8, 2023

Austin Butler is still mourning the late Lisa Marie Presley after his latest awards season win.

At the 2023 BAFTA Awards on Sunday, Butler, 31, said his win for best actor in Elvis at the ceremony comes during a "bittersweet time" following Lisa Marie's unexpected death at age 54 in January.

"It's been a really unimaginably tragic time, you know, and grief is a long process," Butler told reporters in the press room following his win, per Variety. "And so my heart and my love was with [the Presleys] always."

"I feel honored to have been welcomed into the family," he added. "It's a bittersweet time."

While speaking with reporters, the actor also spoke to his luck "to get to have that experience" portraying Elvis Presley in the biopic Elvis, for which he has now won a Golden Globe and BAFTA award leading up to March's Academy Awards.

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Todd Williamson/NBC/NBC via Getty Austin Butler

"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," Butler said of filming the movie. "I miss that experience."

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The star recently said he and Lisa Marie "bonded very, very fast" as he spoke with PEOPLE at the 95th annual Oscar nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills, California last Monday.

"And all those special moments of just getting to share life with her, I'll treasure that forever," he added.

RELATED VIDEO: Austin Butler Had 'No Idea How' Elvis Presley's Family 'Were Going to Respond' to His Portrayal

Remembering the daughter of Elvis Presley as "such an honest person," Butler said: "There was no filter of how she felt. And she really opened her heart to me very quickly."

The actor previously called his Oscar nomination for the role "sort of a bittersweet moment right now" due to Lisa Marie's death when he called in to Today with Hoda and Jenna shortly after Oscar nominations were announced Jan. 24.

"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," the actor said. "It's the same thing I feel with Elvis; I wish that they could see these moments, you know?"

He 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."