STEALING THUNDER

Butler on 90s-set thriller

- By Yolanthe Fawehinmi

SINCE American actor and singer Austin Butler was 12 years old he has always wanted to work with the acclaimed filmmaker Darren Aronofsky.

It was then that he made his acting debut, in a student film playing a dog who turned into a boy, and was keen to find mentors.

Butler, 34, who got his start on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and is best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Elvis Presley in the 2022 biopic Elvis, asked that movie's Australian director Baz Luhrmann who his favourite filmmaker was — and he said Aronofsky.

Luhrmann also urged him to watch Aronofsky's 2000 drug-addled drama Requiem For A Dream.

"I watched Requiem For A Dream at 14, and have since had this dream in my head where I wanted to work with Darren," admits Butler.