Quentin Tarantino always wants the right person for the role, no matter the cost or, in the case of Austin Butler, the time. Before Butler was hired to play Manson Family member Tex Watson in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, he had to prove he was as real as a donut, being teased with fake scripts and going through an exhausting 12-hour audition.
“Quentin came in and most auditions last 10 minutes if you’re lucky. I was there from like nine in the morning to 9 p.m.,” said Butler. “He doesn’t record auditions, he really works with you and looks at you. It’s the same way on set, he doesn’t look through a monitor. I was supposed to have two other meetings that day and because I didn’t have my phone, my agent was worried.” It would seem the 12-hour day was worth it, since Tarantino immediately cast Butler as the Manson Family crony, sealing it with a hug.
Stil, Butler had no idea he was even auditioning for the part of Tex Watson, the man partly responsible for one of the most infamous crimes in American history. Nor did he know which genre the movie even was. “They actually sent me the scene Timothy Olyphant does in the movie, it’s within the fictional film in the film. I had no idea what the movie was, so I assumed it was a Western.” Finally at the audition, “I went and they took my phone and everything away and that’s when I learned I was auditioning for Tex Watson.” That’s one way to convince a former Disney star to play a killer!
Butler has spoken highly of Tarantino in the past, recalling the sheer adrenaline on his sets and how it feels like a sort of brotherhood. “With Quentin, [the excitement was] so cool because it just changes the atoms in the room. And then the next time that ‘We love making movies!’ happens, now you’re in on it. And so every new crew member or actor…they’re a part of the tribe.”
It’s probably unlikely that Tarantino will ever direct Butler again, but both are remaining busy in different ways. Butler is still on the awards circuit looking to land the Best Actor Oscar for Elvis, while Tarantino has a successful podcast, in which he and Roger Avary do deep-dives on some VHS favorites.
What did you think of Austin Butler’s short but impactful turn as Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? Let us know in the comments section below!
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