It is the dream of every actor to get launched by Quentin Tarantino. But there are only a few whose dream becomes reality. One such actor who got his big break in Hollywood in a movie helmed by the acclaimed director is Austin Butler. The actor got to become a part of movie history when he got the part of Tex Manson in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. While he didn’t have a big role to play in the overall plot of the movie, there were two major scenes that helped him land the acclaimed role of Elvis in the movie of the same name. Butler credits Tarantino for his meteoric success and says there’s an X-factor in not just the director but also the set he commands.
Austin Butler Praises Quentin Tarantino’s Movie Set Ritual
In an interview on the YouTube channel First We Feast’s ‘Hot Ones’ show, Austin Butler spilled the beans on what makes the prolific director’s movie sets a cut above a rest. The 31-year-old actor said that there’s a slogan on Tarantino’s sets that everyone including the cast and crew shouts. The Elvis actor said:
“I’ve talked a lot about how much Quentin meant to me. It was always my dream to work with him. We’re on set and he says, ‘OK, we got it. We’re going to do one more. You know why?’ And the entire crew screams, ‘Because we love making movies!’ And the first time you’re there, you’re not in on it. So Brad, Leo, everybody is like, ‘Because we love making movies!'”
Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio shouting “we love making movies,” is certainly a story that should be told during family gatherings. But Butler elaborates that it isn’t just a funny anecdote for him to tell. The actor said that yelling this catchphrase made the experience on Tarantino’s set unique and made everyone there feel like they are a part of the tribe. He explained:
“There are sets that are so sterile. There are sets where there is no joy. There are sets where people are just at a job, and you’re trying to create something that you’re going to give to the world. With Quentin, that was so cool because it just changes the atoms in the room. And then the next time that ‘We love making movies!’ happens, you’re in on it. So every crew new member or actor or whomever, suddenly they’re part of the tribe at that point, saying ‘We love making movies!.'”
Starring in the Tarantino movie was the first step that allowed Butler to climb onto bigger roles, which in turn brought him stardom as well as an Oscar nomination.
Austin Butler’s Academy Award Nomination
Starring in the 2019 film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood alongside high-caliber actors like DiCaprio and Pitt gave Butler the recognition he needed to land bigger roles. Getting to play the lead role in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis biopic was that ticket for him. Now, he has already won several awards for his portrayal of the famous musician and is also nominated in the Best Actor category at the 2023 Academy Awards.
In an interview with USA Today, the actor expressed joy at his nomination but also grief at the passing of Elvis’s only child Lisa Marie Presley. He said:
“It’s been a roller coaster these last couple of weeks, really high highs and these deep valleys of sorrow. A moment like this, it feels joyous but it also feels bittersweet because I just wish Lisa Marie was here to celebrate with us right now.”
Whether he wins or not will be seen at the 2023 Oscars, to air on March 12, 2023.
Source: First We Feast
