Austin Butler Reveals He Auditioned for The Hunger Games

It's paying to be a Hunger Games fan right now because it feels like, every week, a fresh piece of news about the franchise is dropping.

From the release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to the announcement that there'll be an adaptation hitting the London stage and the reveal that a new Hunger Games film has the green light at Lionsgate , it's been a rollercoaster ride for fans of the franchise over the last few months.

But there's more.

In a new interview with BuzzFeed, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer were asked what role people would be surprised to find out they had auditioned for in the past.

"I auditioned for The Hunger Games," Butler revealed, "I didn't get it. I don't think I even got a callback".

Comer comforted him, saying, "It's their loss, Austin", and Butler replied, "It was the character Peeta. Josh Hutcherson got that. He's great."

Butler's had a mammoth few years. His appearance as Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's bombastic biopic of the King of Rock and Roll earned him an Oscar nomination, and he has since gone on to star in two more films — Dune: Part Two and The Bikeriders — as well as appearing in the AppleTV+ series Masters of the Air .

Next up on the slate for the Academy Award nominee are collaborations with some of the most exciting working filmmakers, including Darren Aronofsky, Michael Mann and Ari Aster, as well as a role in City of Fire from screenwriters Justin Kuritzkes ( Challengers ) and Don Winslow.

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