| Austin Butler | |
|---|---|
| Born | Austin Robert Butler August 17, 1991 Anaheim, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor, singer, model |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Website | |
| http://www.austin-butler.com/ | |
Austin Robert Butler (born August 17, 1991) is an American actor, singer, and model. He is best known for his feature films roles as Jake Pearson in Aliens in the Attic and as Peyton Leverette in the High School Musical spin-off film Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, as well as for his television roles as James on Zoey 101, Jordan on Ruby & The Rockits and Jones on Life Unexpected. He currently stars on Switched at Birth playing the role of Wilke since June 27, 2011.[1]
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Austin Butler was born on August 17, 1991 in Anaheim, California, the son of Lori Anne (née Howell) and David Butler.[2][3][4][5] He has one sibling, an older sister named Ashley (born in 1986), who worked as a background-actor alongside him on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.[6][4]
When Butler was 13, he was approached by a representative from a background-acting management company at the Orange County Fair, who helped him get started in the entertainment industry.[3][4][7][8] He found that he really enjoyed it, and soon began taking acting classes to develop his talent.[3][7][8]
In 2005, after working as an extra on several TV shows, Butler landed his first regular job as a background actor playing the role of Lionel Scranton for two seasons on Nickelodeon's Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide.[6][7][9] His friend on the show, Lindsey Shaw, introduced him to her manager, Pat Cutler who immediately offered to represent him, and from that point on, Butler began taking acting seriously as a career.[3][7]
Two years later in 2007, after performing in several commercials, Butler landed his first movie role in the short film The Faithful playing the role of a dog, Danny, who later turns into a human being. In May of that year, Butler landed a guest starring role on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana playing the role of Derek Hanson opposite actress Miley Cyrus, and in September of that same year, he portrayed "Jake Krandle" in the episode "iLike Jake" on the Nickelodeon series iCarly.[6][4][7][9]
In February 2008, Butler landed a recurring role on the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 playing James Garrett, the love interest of Jamie Lynn Spears's character Zoey, and in March of that year, he appeared in an episode of Out of Jimmy's Head playing the role of Lance in the episode titled "Princess".[6][4][7][9]
In July 2009, Butler starred in 20th Century Fox’s family adventure movie Aliens in the Attic (originally titled They Came From Upstairs), portraying Jake Pearson, alongside Ashley Tisdale, Carter Jenkins, Robert Hoffman, Kevin Nealon and Doris Roberts.[4][7][9] In the movie, his character, along with his family, battles to save their vacation home and the world from an alien invasion.[4][7] That same summer, Butler appeared in the starring role of Jordan Gallagher on the popular, but short-lived ABC Family series Ruby & The Rockits, alongside David Cassidy, Patrick Cassidy and his good friend, Alexa Vega.[3][4][9] Butler portrayed the cousin of Alexa's character Ruby, whom he has a crush on, reasoning that it was because he never grew up with her.
In February 2010, Butler landed a recurring role as Jones on the CW network series Life Unexpected,[3][8][10] and that same month, he appeared in an episode of Wizards Of Waverly Place titled "Positive Alex" where he played Alex's new crush, George.[3][10] In March of that year, it was announced that Butler had been cast as "Cameron" in a pilot for another CW network show called Betwixt, but the show was not picked up by the network.[11] In June of that same year, Butler appeared in two consecutive Jonas L.A. episodes where he played Stone Stevens,[3] and in December of that year, Butler's career took a dramatic turn when he appeared in guest-starring roles on CSI: Miami and The Defenders.[8][10]
In the spring of 2010, Butler's Aliens in the Attic co-star Ashley Tisdale invited him to audition for a lead role in the film Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure, a spin-off of Disney's popular High School Musical franchise that followed the adventures of Sharpay Evans after high school as she tries to get her big break on Broadway.[4][8][12] In the film, Butler played Peyton Leverette, a handsome student filmmaker who finds Sharpay nearly as fascinating as she finds herself.[3][8][12]
In December 2010, Butler told Week In Rewind about landing his role in Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure - "I had worked with Ashley once, and then I heard about the movie, because she called me and said, ‘Austin, I want you to come and read for the director for this--I think you’d be perfect.’ So, I went and met with the director, and it went really well, and I ended up doing the movie."[8] The film wrapped production in July 2010 and was released direct-to-DVD on April 19, 2011.[13]
In the year 2011, he booked the role of Wilke on the ABC Family show Switched at Birth. He first debuted on June 27, 2011.[14] In the same year, he signed onto play a lead role of Zack Garvey in the Lifetime movie called Bling Ring, a Dick Clark Productions and directed by Michael Lembeck who previously directed Tooth Fairy and The Santa Clause 3, follows a group of young burglars as they target the homes of some of Hollywood’s most prominent celebrities. Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing plays Iris Garvey, the mother of one of the defendants(Austin's character) Zack. The movie also stars Yin Chang, Renee Olstead and Spencer Locke. The movie released on September 26, 2011.[15]
As of October 2011, Austin Butler has joined ABC Family’s hourlong pilot Intercept, a technology- and action-driven drama about four college students who get roped into solving crimes when one of them (Butler) creates a high-tech communication device that intercepts conversations throughout the West Coast. Danielle Panabaker and Chloe Wang also star in the new show.[16] The show will be directed by Kevin Hooks, executive-produced and written by Ray Wright, who has also written hit movies like The Crazies, Case 39, and Pulse. [17]
Butler attended public school until the 7th grade, when, at the age of 13, he left to be home-schooled in order to accommodate his work schedule.[6][7] He continued his home-school education until 10th grade when, at the age of 15, he took the CHSPE to finish his formal high school education, and hopes to attend college when the time is right.
Butler enjoys creating and recording music, and began playing the guitar at the age of 13 and playing piano at the age of 16.[4][7][9] He enjoys collecting guitars, and his other hobbies include outdoor activities that keep him in shape such as basketball, hiking, and cycling, as well as exercising in his home gym.[7]
He has been dating actress Vanessa Hudgens since September 2011.[18][19]
Butler performed a song on iCarly when he guest starred.
Butler appeared in singles from the Ruby and The Rockits Series. These singles were released through iTunes.
Released on August 18, 2009.
Un-Released. The following are from the television show Ruby and the Rockits.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Faithful | Danny | Short film |
| 2009 | Aliens in the Attic | Jake Pearson | Lead role |
| 2010 | My Uncle Rafael | Cody Beck | Short role |
| 2011 | Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure | Payton Leverette | Disney Channel Original Movie |
| The Bling Ring | Zack Garvey | Lead role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Unfabulous | Unnamed student | Episode: "The Eye Randy" |
| 2005-2007 | Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide | Lionel Scranton (Background) | 41 episodes |
| 2006 | Drake & Josh | Extra | Episode: "The Demonator" |
| 2006-2007 | Hannah Montana | Derek Toby (Uncredited) |
Episode"Oops! I Meddled Again" Episode: "My Best Friend's Boyfriend" |
| 2007-2008 | Zoey 101 | Jimmy/James Garrett | 11 episodes |
| 2008 | iCarly | Jake Krandle | Episode: "iLike Jake" |
| Out of Jimmy's Head | Lance | Episode: "Princess" | |
| 2009 | Ruby & The Rockits | Jordan Gallagher | Main character |
| Zeke & Luther | Rutger Murdock | Episode: "Adventure Boy" | |
| 2010 | Wizards of Waverly Place | George | Episode: "Positive Alex" |
| Jonas L.A. | Stone Stevens | Episode: "Back To The Beach" Episode: "House Party" |
|
| CSI: Miami | Josh Chapman | Episode: "Happy Birthday" | |
| The Defenders | Cody Dennis | Episode: "Nevada v. Dennis" | |
| 2010-2011 | Life Unexpected | Jones Mager | 15 episodes |
| 2011 | CSI: NY | Benjamin Gold | Episode: Do or Die |
| 2011-present | Switched at Birth | Wilke | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Intercept | Devon | Filming |
| Year | Award | Category | Role | Film / Series | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film Young Ensemble Cast |
Jake Pearson (Shared with: Carter Jenkins, Henri Young, Regan Young, Megan Parker) |
Aliens in the Attic | Nominated | [20] |
| Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) Leading Young Actor |
Jordan Gallagher | Ruby & The Rockits | Nominated | [20] | ||
| 2011 | Best Performance in a TV Series Guest Starring Young Actor |
Cody | The Defenders | Nominated | [21] |