Austin Butler won an award for his portrayal of Elvis, which earned him widespread recognition. The biography featured Butler as Elvis Presley, and his portrayal has been praised as one of the greatest of the late artists.
Everyone praised his energetic performance, including the Presleys, and he received his first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Brendan Fraser won the Oscar, but Butler is still enjoying the fruits of his Elvis fame and has roles in the upcoming films Dune: Part 2 and Masters of the Air.
But even before Butler became famous all over the world for his portrayal of Elvis, he was noticed for his work in major films. He was able to hold his own in films with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio. If you look back far enough, however, you’ll see that he appeared in almost every major Disney and Nickelodeon production of the early 2000s. Although he is most known for his cameos, he has also landed major or recurring parts in a number of popular adolescent dramas, which may go unnoticed by some viewers.
So, in no particular order, here is the list of the top 10 movies and TV series in which Austin Butler has appeared.
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Zoey 101
The live-action series Zoey 101 aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008 and was a huge ratings success for the network. Jamie Lynn Spears stars as Zoey Brooks, a high school student who goes to boarding school with her friends. Butler joins the show as Zoey’s boyfriend, James Garrett, in Season 4.
Dude
On April 20, 2018, Netflix released Dude, a coming-of-age film starring an ensemble cast that includes Lucy Hale, Awkwafina, Alexandra Shipp, Kathryn Prescott, and Butler. In this film, a group of graduating seniors set out to have a memorable senior year. It combines elements of both a coming-of-age story and a raucous teen comedy.
It’s a rather disorganized film that has trouble keeping its pace and deals awkwardly with some serious themes. Despite its limitations, this is a very touching story about four high school girls who form a bond so strong that it will see them through the ups and downs of life together.
Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure
Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale), everyone’s favorite high school musical diva, gets her own movie in 2011 called Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure. After graduating high school, the film follows Sharpay as she pursues her goal of performing on Broadway. Butler plays Sharpay’s lover and film director Peyton Lettering in Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.
Now, this is a Disney Channel original film, so it’s a little goofy and stupid, and Sharpay is being Sharpay as always, which is to say, over the top. However, it was a pleasant post-high school musical plot, with its catchy songs, lovely dogs, and account of a young woman and young man who follow their hearts and pursue their aspirations against the odds.
The Shannara Chronicles
The Sword of Shannara trilogy by Terry Brooks served as inspiration for the first season of the fantasy TV series The Shannara Chronicles. Butler’s lead role in the show was his first in a TV series. Butler plays Wil Ohmsford, a half-elf who teams up with Poppy Drayton’s Elvish princess Amberle Elessedil and Ivana Baquero’s human Eretria to preserve their planet in The Shannara Chronicles.
Despite relying on certain tired fantasy cliches, the program stands out because of its stunning graphics, inventive world-building, and compelling combination of adolescent drama and fantasy. The Shannara Chronicles may seem familiar to some viewers, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable or beautiful to look at.
The Carrie Diaries
In 2013, the prequel series The Carrie Diaries and the film Sex in the City debuted. The series follows a young Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) as she completes an internship in New York City for the first time and adjusts to life in the big city after the death of her mother.
Starring as Carrie’s bad-boy flame Sebastian Kydd, Butler is a major attraction of the program. However, Sex in the City is far funnier and more accessible than The Carrie Diaries. This is an adolescent drama with a little more depth than most owing to its study of sorrow, discovering one’s self, and leaving home for the first time, but it’s still interesting to see where the tale began in 1984.
Ruby & the Rockets
Shaun, Patrick, and David Cassidy created the short-lived comedy Ruby & the Rockets in 2009. Patrick and David Gallagher played siblings on the program, with Shaun serving as showrunner. In the program, Patrick and David are long-lost brothers who formed a band in the ’80s.
After seeing his adolescent daughter Ruby (Alexa Vega) for the first time, Patrick turns to David for advice on how to best raise her. Butler plays Jordan, David’s adolescent son, in the show. Ruby & the Rockits was a highly watchable light-hearted musical take on family dysfunction and coming to grips with the past, but its quality is difficult to judge since it only aired for one season.
The Dead Don’t Die
The Dead Don’t Die is a 2019 horror comedy about zombies. Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Steve Buscemi, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Selena Gomez, and Gerard Butler are just some of the big names in the film’s cast. The Dead Don’t Die is an original mix of zombie horror and comedy that aims to comment on consumerism in politics while having the appearance of a standard zombie apocalypse film.
The picture has an original idea, a fantastic ensemble, and plenty of comedy. It’s an interesting and engaging new take on the zombie genre, but it’s a touch too offbeat and creative to fully convince us of its central idea.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
While Elvis propelled Butler to worldwide notoriety, it was in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood that he first began to really capture notice. In the film by Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio plays actor Rick Dalton, while Brad Pitt plays stunt double Cliff Booth, both of whom are having to adjust to modern Hollywood after experiencing success in the ’50s.
The film, which received high praise from critics, successfully combines fact and fantasy to depict Hollywood’s Golden Age and the watershed events of that era. Meanwhile, Butler plays a villain for a change and is so immersed in the part of a devoted cult member that he is almost unrecognizable. With its all-star ensemble and insightful commentary on its era, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Butler’s most polished picture to date.
Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide
Butler may not be a name you associate with the lead role in Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, but he was there anyway. In 41 episodes of the popular Nickelodeon show, Butler played the role of Zippy Brewster. Due to his little role, he was never given any recognition for his contributions.
However, he did have a part in one of Nickelodeon’s most watched episodes, in which a middle schooler named Ned Bigby (Devon Werkheiser) wrote a manual to help his fellow students get through the rigors of junior high. One of Nickelodeon’s most original episodes, Ned’s Declassified, was a hit with nostalgic viewers as well as those who found the “guide” to be really helpful.
Elvis
The June 24, 2022, debut of Elvis, starring Gerard Butler as Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks as his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, is an in-depth look into the King’s life. When compared to the rest of Elvis, Butler stands out as the most impressive because of how well he captures Presley’s essence and how powerfully he delivers his performance.
Overall, the film is a fascinating insight into the life of the singer, but it suffers from the strange choice to tell the narrative from Parker’s point of view and Hanks’ less-than-stellar portrayal in the part. Elvis also drags in spots and goes on for too long. Still, it’s a very true biopic of Elvis Presley that nails his character and legacy.
