His captivating performance in ‘Elvis’ earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor in 2023 – but the 32-year-old Californian has proven several times that Austin Butler is by no means a one-hit wonder. He can currently be seen in Steven Spielberg’s “Band Of Brothers” sequel “Masters Of The Air” on Apple TV+, will soon play Vladimir Harkonnen’s heir in “Dune 2” (theatrical release: February 29) and has already appeared in films from legendary filmmakers such as Jim Jarmusch (“The Dead Don’t Die”) and Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood”). This last collaboration almost never came about.
A few years ago, Butler found himself in the difficult situation of having to choose between two prestigious, promising Hollywood productions. One film is a potential blockbuster with Tom Cruise, the other may be one of the last chances to work with the cult director behind ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Reservoir Dogs’…
“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” instead of “Top Gun 2”
In conversation in the podcast Butler has now revealed that before his big break at the dream factory, he was faced with a choice that would have shaped his career in one direction or another. But how do you decide between Tom Cruise and Quentin Tarantino, between “Top Gun 2: Maverick” And “Once upon a time… In Hollywood“? Well, it seems like the matter was pretty clear for Butler in the end.
Because He had wanted to work with Tarantino for ‘so long’ and just had to say ‘yes’ to get the role of Manson supporter Tex Watson. However, for the sequel to ‘Top Gun’ he would first have to audition and complete a screen test. Would you pass up the opportunity to star in a Tom Cruise movie for the creator of ‘Pulp Fiction’? That was out of the question! “I already had myself with me [Quentin Tarantino] hit, so I did,” Butler said.
Everything done well
If you look back at the two films today, several right decisions were ultimately made here – and both Tarantino’s masterpiece (5 stars in the FILMSTARTS review) and the aviation spectacle (4 stars) an absolute must for cinephiles.
Butler played his way into the spotlight with his small but sweet supporting role in Tarantino’s tribute to the ’70s dream factory, giving his career the momentum it needed to be where it is today. Butler would have been a bit too young for the role in “Top Gun: Maverick”, which ultimately went to Miles Teller – or so the film’s casting director Denise Chamian thinks, but she already had that certain in Austin Butler. and the way he knows how to handle the camera ().
In the end, everything was fine as it was. With his sequel ‘Top Gun’, director Joseph Kosinski gave Tom Cruise by far the most successful film of his career and gave audiences an action fireworks display like they had never seen before. And Quentin Tarantino? With “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood” he delivered one of his very best films – which has given hope for years that the filmmaker would change his mind and not give up his career as a director after his next film stalls…