Austin Butler is a name you should know, especially for his standout performances in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. More than ten years ago, he was poised to make his mark in another blockbuster franchise – The Hunger Games.
While promoting his film The Bikeriders, Butler revealed to BuzzFeed that he once auditioned for the role of Peeta in The Hunger Games, though he ultimately did not land the part. Had he secured the role, he would have been Jennifer Lawrence’s partner both in love and in the games.
“I auditioned for The Hunger Games, and I didn’t get it at all. I don’t even think I got a callback. What’s the character? Peeta? Yeah, Josh Hutcherson got that. He’s great.”
Josh Hutcherson got the role and starred in the four “Hunger Games” movies from 2012 to 2015. He acted alongside Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss and Liam Hemsworth as Gale. The success of these films made all three actors global stars.
Speaking to *The Hollywood Reporter *in 2022, The Hunger Games director Gary Ross said: “Josh was pitch-perfect… these were honestly easy decisions for me.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the other actors considered for the role of Peeta in 2011 included the American Horror Story alum Evan Peters, X-Men actor Lucas Till, Broadway star Hunter Parrish, and Alexander Ludwig, who was eventually cast in The Hunger Games as Peeta and Katniss’s rival Cato.
In a conversation with Variety, Butler shared how he learned to face rejection. He started acting at about age 11 and has since fallen in love with the craft.
“You get told “no” so many times. And early on, someone told me something that really helped. They said, “It’s a numbers game. Prepare to go to 100 auditions before you book one.” So the idea was, I was just going through one of those hundreds to get to the one.
The actor even shared his own perspective when trying to land a gig.
“Don’t think about it as getting the job, think about it as doing the best acting you can possibly do,” he said. “Making it about the work, not the job, really changed my perspective,” Butler added.