Before his star turn in the 2022 biopic Elvis, Austin Butler was primarily known for his roles in youth-oriented shows that aired on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and the CW. It wasn’t until he appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Elvis, and now Dune: Part Two, that Butler began to receive widespread recognition for his performances. In an interview with fellow Dune: Part Two actor Josh Brolin for Interview magazine, Butler opened up about his new level of fame and accolades — and admits that at times it is terrifying.
Butler confesses that he always feels nervous about taking on new projects and how he will perform the particular character. He reveals, “I’m always nervous. I always feel an incredible pressure. I felt that when I was 12 years old. Even if the material doesn’t really require it, I feel I need to do the best that I possibly can. That sets a bar, and then I’m always afraid that I’m going to miss something. With Dune it was interesting, because I met with Denis [Villeneuve], and we got along very well, and started talking about the character. At that point, we didn’t even have a script, but as we started talking about Feyd, my imagination started running, and I started to feel the terror of the challenge. That’s what I’m guided by now: What really scares me?”
“…it becomes this jet fuel that makes you wake up at four in the morning with your heart pounding, and you go, ‘Okay, let’s get to work. Let’s start working on the voice. Let’s start working on the body. Let’s start working on the text.’”
As an example, he point to his Oscar-nominated title role in Elvis. He continues, “Because Elvis was terrifying. There was so much pressure, and I was constantly asking myself, ‘Am I enough? Can I pull off this tightrope act?’ That makes you focus and work really hard. The wonderful thing about the reception of that film was realizing that even though I had that terror and questioned my own ability, if I put in the hard work, I set myself up to hopefully affect some people. It means I’m now able to see that terror as a separate thing, and not let it rule me, and instead look at it and go, ‘I see you. I hear you. I’m not going to let you cripple me.’ And then it becomes this jet fuel that makes you wake up at four in the morning with your heart pounding, and you go, ‘Okay, let’s get to work. Let’s start working on the voice. Let’s start working on the body. Let’s start working on the text.'”
In spite of those fears, Butler is gratified for the position in his career that he is now in. He says, “I feel incredibly grateful, because I’ve been plugging away at this since I was a kid. I’ve had these dreams for so many years, of getting to work with my heroes, and now a lot of that’s coming true. And to be able to delve into these characters that are compelling, and challenging, and scary, has been such a magical time in my life.”
