- Born: Anaheim, California, United States
- Age: August 17, 1991 (age 31 years)
- Height: 1.83 m
- Parents: Lori Butler, David Butler
- Nationality: American
- Record label: Hollywood Records
- Siblings: Ashley Butler
It was in the USA on August 17th, 1991 that Austin Robert Butler entered the world.
He began his career with roles on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, followed by recurrent roles on teen dramas such as
The CW’s Life Unexpected (2010–2011) and Switched at Birth (2011–2012).
He rose to prominence through his roles in The Carrie Diaries (2013–2014) and The Shannara Chronicles (2016–2017).
Butler made his Broadway debut in the 2018 revival of The Iceman Cometh and as Tex Watson in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino (2019).
In 2022, he gained broader notoriety for his critically lauded depiction of Elvis Presley in the musical biopic Elvis, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for He got the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
Early years
They divorced when he was seven years old. Ashley, his 1986-born older sister, worked alongside him as a background actor on Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.
At thirteen, a representative from a background acting management business met Butler at the Orange County Fair and assisted him in entering the entertainment profession.
- He discovered that he enjoyed it and quickly enrolled in acting classes.
- Butler attended public school till the eighth grade, when he decided to homeschool to meet his work schedule better.
- He completed homeschooling through the tenth grade and subsequently passed the CHSPE, the state’s high school equivalency exam.
Career
Beginnings in Teen Sitcoms
After working as a background actor on many television series, Butler won his first regular role as Zippy Brewster for two seasons on Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide in 2005.
- Lindsey Shaw, a fellow cast member, introduced him to her manager, Pat Cutler, who signed him and launched his career.
- Butler began to take acting seriously as a career at that point.
- In May 2007, Butler won a guest-starring role on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana as Derek Hanson opposite Miley Cyrus.
- In September of the same year, he portrayed Jake Krandle on the Nickelodeon comedy iCarly in the episode “iLike Jake.”
Butler in March 2008
In February 2008, Butler won a starring role on another Nickelodeon series, Zoey 101, as James Garrett, the fourth-season love interest of Jamie Lynn Spears’s Zoey.
In March of that year, he appeared in “Out of Jimmy’s Head” as Lance in the episode entitled “Princess.”
Butler portrayed Jake Pearson in the July 2009 20th Century Fox family adventure film Aliens in the Attic, opposite Ashley Tisdale, Carter Jenkins, Robert Hoffman, Kevin Nealon, and Doris Roberts.
- In the movie, his character and his family fight off an alien invasion at their vacation home and around the world.
- During the same summer, Butler portrayed Jordan Gallagher in the popular but short-lived ABC Family comedy Ruby & the Rockits alongside David Cassidy, Patrick Cassidy, and his close friend Alexa Vega.
- Butler secured a recurring role as Jones on the CW’s Life Unexpected in February 2010.
- Later that year, he appeared in episodes of the Disney Channel’s Wizards of Waverly Place and Jonas and CSI: Miami and The Defenders.
Also in 2010, Butler’s Aliens in the Attic co-star Ashley Tisdale invited him to audition for a lead role in the film Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, a spin-off of Disney’s Sharpay Evans’s life after high school as she tries to get on Broadway was the focus of the High School Musical franchise.
In the film, Butler portrays Sharpey’s love interest, Peyton Leverette.
- Butler, on his casting with “Week In Rewind, “I had previously worked with Ashley, and when she heard about the film, she called me and said, “Austin, I want you to audition for the director because I think you’d be excellent for this role.
- “So, I went to the director’s office, where the meeting went quite well, and I did the film.” The movie was released on DVD exclusively on April 19, 2011.
- In 2011, he was cast as Wilke on the ABC Family show Switched at Birth, which debuted on June 27, 2011.
In the same year, he was cast as Zack Garvey in the Lifetime TV movie The Bling Ring, produced by Dick Clark Productions and directed by Michael Lembeck and based on the burglary ring of the same name that targeted the houses of Hollywood celebrities.
The release date of the film was September 26, 2011. Butler made a special appearance on the NBC comedy Are You There, Chelsea? in January 2012.
2012–2017: Television’s leading roles
Butler continued to appear in teen-oriented television programs in his early twenties, but he garnered wider fame for his main parts in The Carrie Diaries and The Shannara Chronicles; he also expanded into new stage and cinema ventures.
In March 2012, Butler was cast in The CW’s Sex and the City prequel series The Carrie Diaries as Sebastian Kydd, a brooding high school heartthrob who attended the same school as Anna Sophia Robb’s Carrie Bradshaw.
The Carrie Diaries is based on the same-titled novel by Candace Bushnell and follows Bradshaw’s life in 1980s New York City. Following two seasons, the show was canceled.
- In April 2014, it was reported that Butler had joined the cast of the Los Angeles production of Death of the Author at the Geffen Playhouse.
- Bradley is a pre-law student with a double degree in political science and mathematics who is about to graduate from a prestigious university.
- The play is written by Steven Drukman and directed by Bart DeLorenzo. After a preview performance on May 20, 2014, the play ran from May 28 to June 29.
- Then, Butler joined the cast of Arrow as Chase, a recurring character. His character was a DJ and Thea Queen’s potential love interest.
- In the 2015 thriller The Intruders, he co-starred alongside Miranda Cosgrove and Tom Sizemore.
- He also participated in Kevin Smith’s 2016 horror-comedy Yoga Hosers, about 15-year-old yoga fanatics Colleen Collette and Colleen McKenzie.
- Johnny Depp, Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, and Haley Joel Osment appear in the film.
- In 2016, he began portraying Wil Ohmsford in the MTV version of Terry Brooks’ novel The Elfstones of Shannara, The Shannara Chronicles. After two seasons, the show was canceled.
2018–present: Critical acclaim and Elvis
Butler made his Broadway debut in The Iceman Cometh, starring Denzel Washington and David Morse, as Don Parritt, the “lost youngster.”
In March 2018, previews for the limited run began, and the show finished in July 2018.
According to Hilton Als’s review of the play in The New Yorker, there is only one actor in George C. Wolfe’s staging of Eugene O’Neill’s fantastic drama The Iceman Cometh. His name is Austin Butler.
- In the 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he portrayed a fictionalized version of Manson Family member Tex Watson.
- His performance was hailed as “intense” and “dark” despite having limited screen time.
- In the same year, Butler was cast as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, a biographical film about the musician.
- The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 when it garnered a twelve-minute standing ovation, the longest at the festival that year.
- Critics and members of the Presley family praised Butler’s portrayal.
- He regarded the role as “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever undertaken.” Later that year, Butler hosted an edition of Saturday Night Live.
Butler will next appear in the miniseries Masters of the Air, a combat drama.
Afterwards, he will portray Feyd-Rautha in the science fiction epic Dune: Part Two and will co-star with Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer in Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders.
Drama:
| Year | Drama Name | Role | Detail |
| 2005-2007 | Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide | Zippy Brewster | Recurring role (uncredited) |
| 2006-2007 | Hannah Montana | Toby / Derek Hanson | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | iCarly | Jake Krandall | 1 episode |
| 2007-2008 | Zoey 101 | Danifer / James Garrett | Recurring role |
| 2008 | Out of Jimmy’s Head | Lance | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Ruby & the Rockits | Jordan Gallagher | Main Role |
| 2009 | Zeke and Luther | Rutger Murdock | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Jonas | Stone Stevens | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Josh Chapman | 1 episode |
| 2009 | The Defenders | Cody Dennis | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Wizards of Waverly Place | George | 1 episode |
| 2010-2011 | Life Unexpected | Jones Mager | Resuming Role |
| 2011 | The Bling Ring | Zack Garvey | Television Film |
| 2011 | CSI: NY | Benjamin Gold | 1 episode |
Film
| Year | Move Name | Character |
| 2009 | Aliens in the attic | Jake Pearson |
| 2011 | Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure | Peyton Leverett |
| 2012 | My Uncle Rafael | Cody Beck |
| 2015 | The Intruders | Noah Henry |
| 2016 | Yoga Hosers | Hunter Calloway |
| 2018 | Dude | Thomas Daniels |
| 2019 | The Dead Don’t Die | Jack |
| 2019 | Once Upon a Time in Hollywood | Tex Watson |
| 2022 | Elvis | Elvis Presley |
| 2023 | The Bikeriders | TBA |
| 2023 | Dune: Part Two | Feyd-Rautha |
