Dune 2 star reveals which main Hunger Games role he missed out on

Austin Butler has revealed he once auditioned for a major role in The Hunger Games, and divulged which part he went up for, too.

While promoting his new drama The Bikeriders, the Dune: Part Two actor and his co-star Jodie Comer were asked about the more surprising gigs they’ve missed out on over the years. While Comer said she’d tried out to be in Mamma Mia! and Peaky Blinders right before she booked Killing Eve, Butler confessed that he once auditioned to play Katniss Everdeen’s pal Peeta Mellark in the big screen adaptations of Suzanne Collins’ YA novels.

“I didn’t even get a callback,” he laughed, in a video for Buzzfeed Celeb.

“Their loss, Austin,” Comer smiled, as Butler went on to praise Josh Hutcherson’s “great” work as Peeta.

(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Other actors who have revealed they were considered to play Peeta over the years include Hunter Parrish, Lucas Till, and Evan Peters. Alexander Ludwig and Liam Hemsworth tried out, too, but ultimately wound up portraying Cato and Gale Hawthorne, respectively.

In The Bikeriders, Butler plays Benny, a quiet but unpredictable member of a motorcycle gang in ’60s Chicago. The film is structured around Kathy’s (Jodie Comer) accounts of her marriage to Butler’s wild wheelman Benny and how she tried, in the name of love, to still his violent, thrill-seeking nature. Jeff Nichols directs.

It’s in cinemas now. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies heading our way across 2024 and beyond.