credit: Warner Bros
The next rockstar biopic has landed, after Straight Outta Compton, Rocketman, Bohemian Rhapsody, and others, and it’s of the King of Rock and Roll himself: Elvis. However likely anyone may be to play Elvis, Warner Bros. ultimately chose Austin Butler to play Elvis in the film, but where did the young actor’s career take him before Autin Butler was chosen as his newest and grandest role? Of course, now the role of The King couldn’t get handed to any actor, as Elvis had a certain way about him that could only be captured by a few if any. Below, we’ve detailed the career of Austin Butler before Elvis, a film that saw the history of the singer and actor, as well as him conflicting with his manager, played by none other than Tom Hanks.
credit: Warner Bros
Austin Butler
Austin Butler, much before his Elvis casting, started his career as a background character when he was still in school, which ultimately caused the actor to switch from in-school education to home-schooled learning until he finally took acting as a full-time career and finished his high-school education via the California Early Exit program.
credit: Warner Bros
Austin Butler on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel
Austin Butler may be recognizable to most that grew up in the 90s and early 2000s as the actor was on a few Nickelodeon shows that had quite a following while they were on the air. Before Austin Butler was in Elvis, his break came when he met the manager of Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide co-star, Lindsey Shaw, who introduced him to another manager. After that, Austin Butler and his career only spread to more channels like Nickelodeon, working on Disney Channel on shows such as Hannah Montana. Although Austin Butler only appeared on one episode of Hannah Montana, he also went on to be on a single episode of Nickelodeon again with his appearance on iCarly. From his one-off roles on various shows on different networks, Austin Butler became a series regular in the fourth season for the first time in his career for Zoey 101. After some movies, shows, and appearances on Disney Channel shows Wizards of Waverly Place and Jonas, one alongside Ashley Tisdale, Austin Butler was invited by the High School Musical star to star as a co-lead in a spinoff movie from the film series she was working on in 2010.
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Dated Vanessa Hudgens for 9 Years
From his days on Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and beyond, Austin Butler crossed paths with Vanessa Hudgens, who met and started dating in 2011, until they separated in 2020. Although the two separated, they once held a substantial “very-long distance” relationship, with an ocean between them. Even though the two separated before Elvis, Austin Butler didn’t let the breakup bring him down as the actor was awarded Best Actor for his role in the film, which may stand as his most monumental for quite some time. Outside of his win for the lead role of Elvis in the film of the same name, before Elvis, Austin Butler had been nominated three other times for work on Aliens in the Attic, Ruby & The Rockits, and The Defenders.
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Theater Before Elvis
Before Austin Butler was cast as the lead role in Elvis, the actor went beyond television and movies with his work in the theater. In 2014, Austin Butler was in a smaller production of Death of the Author, but in 2018 Butler was cast in The Iceman Cometh, which was such a monumental performance on Broadway that Butler was referred to as “the only actor on the stage, alongside performers,” which earned him even more praise. However, the actor has yet to return to the most famous stage in the world.
credit: Warner Bros
Austin Butler’s Most Interesting and Upcoming Roles
Although Austin Butler had a pretty exciting career, bouncing from Nickelodeon to Disney Channel and back before the actor found a final role on Disney Channel with Ashley Tisdale in her High School Musical spinoff film, Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure, his most exciting roles happened from 2014 and on. His earliest, most exciting role on television could be stated to have started with Arrow when Austin Butler portrayed a love interest of Thea Queen for three episodes from 2014 to 2015. As for film and movies, Austin Butler had his most exciting role with Yoga Hosers in 2016, a Kevin Smith film that also starred his and Johnny Depp’s daughters. From Yoga Hosers, in 2019, Austin Butler appeared in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as a member of the Manson family and The Dead Don’t Die alongside Bill Murray, Selena Gomez, and other star-studded cast members. While all that happened for Austin Butler before Elvis, the actor also has an upcoming role in the Dune reboot sequel, Dune: Part 2. Although Austin Butler had an extensive career before Elvis, the actor also has an upcoming role in the war drama miniseries Masters of the Air, which will be his first television stint since The Shannara Chronicles in 2017.