Occupational Inheritance: No
Nationality: US; Anaheim, Ca
Social Class: Middle; mother aesthetician
Race/Ethnicity/Religion
Family: parents divorced when he was 7
Education:
Training:
Teacher/Inspirational Figure:
Radio Debut:
TV Debut: “Hannah Montana,” 2007; aged 16 (opposite Miley Cyrus)
Stage Debut:
Broadway Debut: “The Iceman Cometh,” 2018; aged 27
Film Debut:
Breakthrough Role:
Oscar Role: Elvis
Other Noms: Elvis, 2022
Other Awards:
Frequent Collaborator:
Screen Image:
Last Film: NA
Career Output: NA
Film Career Span:
Marriage:
Politics:
Death: NA
Austin Butler (born August 17, 1991) is an American actor, best known for his role as Elvis Presley in the 2022 biopic, Elvis.
A former Nickelodeon and Disney star, Butler made his Broadway debut in the 2018 revival of “The Iceman Cometh” and played Tex Watson in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).
In 2022, he achieved wider recognition for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Elvis Presley in the musical biopic Elvis, for which he won Golden Globe Award and received Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Butler was born on August 17, 1991, in Anaheim, California, the son of Lori Anne (née Howell), an aesthetician, and David Butler.
The two divorced when he was seven. He has an older sister, Ashley (born in 1986), who worked as a background actor alongside him on Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.
When Butler was 13, he was approached by representative from a background acting management company at the Orange County Fair who helped him get started in the entertainment industry.
He found that he enjoyed it and soon began taking acting classes.
Butler attended public school until the seventh grade, when he left to be homeschooled to better accommodate his work schedule. He continued his homeschooling until the tenth grade and later passed the CHSPE, the state’s high school equivalency diploma.
In 2005, after working as an extra on several television series, Butler landed his first regular job as a background actor playing the role of Zippy Brewster for two seasons on Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.
Manager: Pat Cutler
His friend on the show Lindsey Shaw introduced him to her manager, Pat Cutler, who signed him and launched his career. Butler began taking acting seriously as career.
In May 2007, Butler landed guest starring role on Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana” playing the role of Derek Hanson opposite actress Miley Cyrus, and in September of that same year, he portrayed Jake Krandle in the episode “iLike Jake” on the Nickelodeon series “iCarly.”
In February 2008, Butler landed main role on another Nickelodeon series, “Zoey 101,” playing James Garrett, the love interest of Jamie Lynn Spears’s title character Zoey in the fourth season. In March of that year, he appeared in an episode of Out of Jimmy’s Head, playing Lance in the episode titled “Princess.”
In July 2009, Butler starred in 20th Century Fox’s family adventure movie “Aliens in the Attic,” portraying Jake Pearson, alongside Ashley Tisdale, Carter Jenkins, Robert Hoffman, Kevin Nealon and Doris Roberts. In the movie, his character, along with his family, battles to save their vacation home and the world from an alien invasion.
That same summer, Butler appeared in the starring role of Jordan Gallagher on the popular but short-lived ABC Family series Ruby & the Rockits, alongside David Cassidy, Patrick Cassidy and his good friend, Alexa Vega.
In February 2010, Butler landed a recurring role as Jones on the CW series Life Unexpected. Later that year, he guest-starred in episodes of the Disney Channel sitcoms Wizards of Waverly Place and Jonas as well as on 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 High School Musical franchise that followed the adventures of Sharpay Evans after high school as she tries to get her big break on Broadway. In the film, Butler plays Peyton Leverette, the love interest of Sharpay.
Regarding his casting, Butler told Week In Rewind, “I had worked with Ashley once, and then I heard about the movie, because she called me and said, ‘Austin, I want you to come and read for the director for this—I think you’d be perfect.’ So, I went and met with the director, and it went really well, and I ended up doing the movie.” The film was released direct-to-DVD on April 19, 2011.
In 2011, he booked the recurring role of Wilke on the ABC Family series Switched at Birth, debuting on June 27, 2011.
In the same year, he signed on to play the lead role of Zack Garvey in the Lifetime TV movie “The Bling Ring,” made by Dick Clark Productions and directed by Michael Lembeck, based on the burglary group of the same name who targeted the homes of Hollywood’s celebrities. The movie was released on September 26, 2011.
In January 2012, Butler guest-starred on the NBC comedy “Are You There, Chelsea?”
In his early 20s, Butler continued to act in teen-oriented TV series, but gained greater recognition his starring roles in “The Carrie Diaries,” and later “The Shannara Chronicles”; he also branched out into new stage and film projects.
In March 2012, Butler was cast in The CW’s “Sex and the City” prequel series “The Carrie Diaries” to play Sebastian Kydd, a brooding heartthrob attending the same high school as Carrie Bradshaw, played by AnnaSophia Robb.
The Carrie Diaries is based on Candace Bushnell’s novel by the same name and follows Bradshaw’s life in the 1980s as a teenager in New York City. The show was cancelled after two seasons.
In April 2014, Butler joined the cast of the play “Death of the Author” at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. He played the role of Bradley, a pre-law student with double major in political science and math, and is set to graduate from a wealthy university. The play was directed by Bart DeLorenzo and written by Steven Drukman. After previews on May 20, 2014, the play ran from May 28 to June 29.
Butler then joined the cast of “Arrow” in the recurring role of Chase. His character was a DJ and a love interest of Willa Holland’s character Thea Queen.
He co-starred with Miranda Cosgrove and Tom Sizemore in the 2015 thriller film “The Intruders,” and appeared in Kevin Smith’s 2016 horror-comedy film “Yoga Hosers,” about 15-year-old yoga nuts Colleen Collette and Colleen McKenzie. The film also stars Johnny Depp, Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith and Haley Joel Osment.
In 2016, he began playing the role of Wil Ohmsford in “The Shannara Chronicles,” MTV’s television adaptation of the Terry Brooks novel The Elfstones of Shannara. The series was cancelled after 2 seasons.
Butler made his Broadway debut playing Don Parritt, the “lost boy” in “The Iceman Cometh,” which starred Denzel Washington and David Morse. Previews for the limited run began in March 2018, and the play closed in July 2018.
In 2019, he appeared in the Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as a fictional version of Manson Family member Tex Watson. Though he had limited screen time, his performance was “intense” and “brooding.”
In that same year, Butler was cast as Elvis Presley in Elvis, a biopic about the singer directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Fest, where the film received a 12 minute standing ovation from the audience, the longest at the year’s festival. Butler’s performance received critical acclaim, as well as praise from the Presley family.
He described the part as “the most intimidating thing I’ve ever done, having not slept for the past two years.”
Butler hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live” later that year
Butler will next star in the war drama miniseries “Masters of the Air.”
He will then play Feyd-Rautha in the sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two, and will star alongside Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer in Jeff Nichols’s The Bikeriders.
Butler enjoys creating and recording music. He taught himself to play guitar at the age of 13 and piano at 16.
He was in a relationship with actress Vanessa Hudgens from 2011 to 2019. Since late 2021, Butler has been in a relationship with model Kaia Gerber.
In 2014, Butler’s mother died of duodenal cancer.
Filmography
2009 Aliens in the Attic Jake Pearson
2011 Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, Peyton Leverett, Direct-to-video
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
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Tex Watson
2022 Elvis, Elvis Presley
2023 Dune: Part Two Feyd-Rautha Post-production
The Bikeriders TBA
Television
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
Zeke and Luther Rutger Murdock 1 episode
Jonas Stone Stevens 2 episodes
CSI: Miami Josh Chapman 1 episode
The Defenders Cody Dennis 1 episode
2010 Wizards of Waverly Place George 1 episode
2010–2011 Life Unexpected Jones Mager Recurring role
2011 CSI: NY Benjamin Gold 1 episode
The Bling Ring Zack Garvey Television film
2011–2012 Switched at Birth, James “Wilkie” Wilkerson Recurring role
2012 Are You There, Chelsea? Luke 1 episode
2013–2014 The Carrie Diaries Sebastian Kydd, Main role
2014–2015 Arrow Chase 3 episodes
2016–2017 The Shannara Chronicles Wil Ohmsford Main role
2022 Saturday Night Live Himself (host) Episode: “Austin Butler/Lizzo”
2023 Masters of the Air Gale Cleven Main role; upcoming miniseries
Theater
2014 Death of the Author, Bradley, Geffen Playhouse
2018 The Iceman Cometh, Don Parritt, Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Broadway
