Between Tarantino and Tom Cruise, Austin Butler had to make a choice!

Cruise or Tarantino? Austin Butler has chosen – and apparently made the right decision! Find out why his choice ultimately landed him at the Oscars…

How to choose between Tom Cruise and Quentin Tarantino? It's a dilemma Austin Butler faced before his Oscar-nominated performance in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis made him an international star.

Last January, during an interview on the podcast “Happy Sad Confused” (via Variety), while promoting his Apple TV+ series, Masters of the Air, Austin Butler confirmed reports that he was in the running to play alongside Tom Cruise in Joseph Kosinski's blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.

“I ended up having to choose between taking the test for Top Gun: Maverick or saying yes to Quentin Tarantino”, he revealed.

Quentin Tarantino had indeed offered the rising star a role in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. As the young actor wanted to work with the director of Pulp Fiction “for so long”, he was not going to let this opportunity pass him by.

“I had already met (Tarantino), so I did it.” he said of his decision, which led him to play Charles Manson cult member Charles Watson in the 2019 biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.

And it was a smart move on the part ofAustin Butlerbecause the casting director of Top Gun: Maverick And ElvisDenise Chamian previously told Variety that the Top Gun team ultimately felt he was too young for the role of Rooster, for which he was considered, a role that went to Miles Teller. But meeting Denise Chamian during the castings for Maverick allowed the actor to appear on his radar and when it came to finding the one who would play Elvis…the loop has been closed – and has led Austin Butler to be nominated for an Oscar for best actor!

“The project he came closest to was Top Gun.,” Chamian said.When I cast this role, we were looking for the one Miles Teller would play. I was so passionate about Austin. Eventually, his audition was shown to Tom and all the directors. They agreed he had something and were happy to hear from him, but they thought he was too young.”

“At that moment I saw that this actor had something very special that others don't always have.”, she added.It's almost his way of looking at the camera. He knows the camera and lets it see him, and that's really what's so captivating.”

Top Gun: Maverick And Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood have both become box office hits and awards season contenders, with the former grossing $1.49 billion, becoming the 11th highest-grossing film of all time at the global box office, and the latter taking home two Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for Brad Pitt.

“Normally I don't talk much about new movies because then I have to say only positive things, or else I criticize someone. And I don't want to do that.”, had declared Quentin Tarantino during CinemaBlend's “ReelBlend” podcast in August 2022.But in this case, I love Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic.”

Between Masters of the Air to be found on Apple TV+, Dune: Part Two and Elvis both available on VOD, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood streaming on Netflix, or even The Bikeriders currently in theaters, you have plenty of choice to discover or rediscover Austin Butler's already iconic performances.