Before he became an Oscar nominee for Elvis, Austin Butler was a star on the rise. And as those lucky enough to be in that position sometimes find themselves, he had to pick between two huge projects.
According to People, Butler told the Happy Sad Confused podcast, “I ended up having to choose between going to the screen test for Top Gun: Maverick or saying yes to Quentin Tarantino.”
After wanting to work with the Pulp Fiction Oscar winner “for so long,” he chased the dream of working with Tarantino in Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood.
Butler played Charles Watson, a member of Charles Manson‘s murderous cult — whose nether regions meet their end thanks to Brad Pitt‘s hungry dog.
Variety reports Butler was up for the role of Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick, but while Cruise and company liked the actor, they thought he was too young for the role that eventually went to Miles Teller.
However, the same casting director for Maverick, Denise Chamian, recommended Butler for Elvis, so it’s safe to say everything worked out for Butler, who now stars in Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air.
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