The Masters of the Air star talks upcoming war drama and working with ‘handsome actor’ Austin Butler
Airbenders is without a doubt one of the most anticipated TV shows of the year. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, it serves as a companion to their other two war dramas Band of Brothers and The Pacific. This time, however, the focus is on the US Air Force, telling the story of the 100th Bomb Group, nicknamed the “Bloody 100th” due to the heavy casualties they suffered during combat missions against the Nazis. And if that hasn’t already got you excited about the series, the cast list is sure to be starring – deep breath – Austin Butler, Ncuti Gatwa, Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner and many more.
Turner can’t wait to bring the project to the world, as he revealed during the recent press tour for his new film, The Boys in the Boat. For the sports drama, the actor trained for five months to play real-life Olympic medal-winning rower Joe Rantz. And playing Major John Egan in Masters of the Air required a similar level of training.
However, as Turner told GamesRadar+ and the Inside Total Film podcast, it was a very different process: “The preparation for this was completely different because it was more academic than physical. We couldn’t really implement the plans.” so we had to learn everything. At that time, I could tell you how to take off and land a Boeing B-17 because we all needed to learn how to do it. In fact – you know, Joe Rantz continued to work at Boeing, helping to make plans. Maybe then I should continue in this direction and just go work for Boeing!” While there is a clear connection between his two projects, we really hope Turner continues his acting career!
Turner also talked about working alongside Butler, who received critical acclaim for his starring role in Elvis and will also be seen in Dune 2 later this year. Shooting down internet rumors that Butler still had an Elvis accent on set (sorry, Twitter), Turner praised his co-star’s talent: “He finished Elvis and then came to us, with maybe a break in four days. show. There’s a bit of John Wayne about him. He’s a great actor and I loved working with him.”
Well, consider us completely sold!
The Boys in the Boat is currently playing in US cinemas and will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 12 January. Meanwhile, Masters of the Air will debut on Apple TV Plus on January 26th.
To learn more from our interview with Turner alongside Boys in the Boat director George Clooney, we also spoke to the pair about preparing for their new sports drama and why casting Hitler for the film was a strange experience. And be sure to tune in to the new episode of the Inside Total Film podcast for the full conversation.