Austin Butler says he's "proud of Selena Gomez"

'Elvis' star Austin Butler is grateful for his bond with Selena Gomez!

According to People Magazine, Austin recently told Extra that Selena is one of his longest friends in the business. He said, "I've known her for so many years, so it is nice to get to share space with somebody for a long period of time, and I'm just so proud of her."

The relationship between the two performers dates back to when Butler made an appearance on a Disney Channel episode of Wizards of Waverly Place, in which Gomez played young wizard Alex Russo.

In the 2010 episode "Positive Alex," Alex (Gomez) uses a spell to make herself more upbeat in order to win George (Butler), her love interest, over because he finds her usual pessimism offensive.

Butler is nominated in the Best Actor category for Oscars this year for his film 'Elvis'.

Butler, who got his start as a child actor on both Nickelodeon and Disney Channel shows, played Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's hit biopic, 'Elvis.'

'Elvis' features an all-star cast including Olivia DeJonge as Elvis' wife Priscilla, singer-songwriter Yola as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jimmie Rodgers, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King, Luke Bracey as Jerry Schilling and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Presley's mother, Gladys Presley.

'Elvis' chronicles the illustrious life of the King of Rock and Roll, from his early discovery at age 19 to his untimely passing at age 42. Eight Academy Award nominations were made for the biopic, including best picture (Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick, and Schuyler Weiss), actor (Butler), production design (Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy Bev Dunn), cinematography (Mandy Walker), costumes (Martin), editing (Jonathan Redmond, Matt Villa), makeup and hairstyling (Mark Coulier, Jason Baird, and Aldo Signoretti), and sound ( (David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller).