A PB and J connoisseur; what we learned from Austin Butler’s appearance on hit YouTube show Hot Ones

The fantastic YouTube series Hot Ones featuring the always impressive interviewing skills of Sean Evans was fortunate enough to have an Oscar nominee appear on their most recent episode. With Oscar buzz nearing critical mass, especially as the BAFTAs will be over and done with this weekend, it seemed fitting that Best Actor nominee and an all-around favourite of the internet, Austin Butler, would face the hot wings challenge.

Bravely taking on the hot wings that increase in Scoville level with each new bite, Butler impressively kept it together despite coming close to losing his cool. He managed to polish off all the hot wings on offer, including the dreaded last dab - adding “incredibly spicy food eater” to his already impressive resume.

As usual, Sean Evans’ fantastic deep dive into the career of Butler discussed his time in acting school, his preferred take on the method acting debate and how the humble peanut butter and jelly (jam to UK readers) sandwich always reminded him of home, no matter where he consumed the underrated/overrated sandwich filling of choice.

Viewers were also treated to stories about Butler being on set with a personal hero of his, Quentin Tarantino, discussions about Elvis’ life including his frustrations with movie roles, and above all else just how durable the Oscar nominee’s palette is.

Peopleworld watched the episode and has brought together some key takeaways from Austin Butler’s appearance on Hot Ones.

Quentin Tarantino’s reasons for filming an additional take after a perfect one beforehand

We know that Quentin Tarantino is a huge film aficionado, including his most recent book revealing some of his favourite grindhouse and off-the-radar films during the ‘70s that resonated with the Pulp Fiction director. But we didn’t know just how adamant he was that everyone around him enjoys filmmaking - including Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Speaking about his time on the set of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Butler regaled Evans with an anecdote about how Tarantino got the perfect take but then decided to shoot it one more time. “He then said why are we shooting one more take,” Butler explained, “and everyone shouted at the same time ‘because we love film!’” It caught Butler off guard the first time around, but he soon joined in thereafter.

Elvis Presley was frustrated by his serious acting roles

The topic of Elvis naturally was brought up, but Butler revealed an aspect that was merely touched upon in the Bas Luhrman film; the movie career of the King.

Butler revealed that Elvis was in movies even before he joined the army, but it was after the release of King Creole in 1958 that the legendary performer started questioning his lack of appeal on the silver screen.

Turns out, Colonel Tom Parker informed Elvis that people did not want to watch Elvis act in a film, they wanted to see him sing on the big screen instead. This ultimately led to the wave of musical vehicles that Elvis appeared in, each one with diminishing returns… ultimately leading to Elvis’ comeback special in 1968 (one of the most poignant moments in the film.)

He hoped an anecdote about Marlon Brando at an acting class is true

Sean Evans discussed with Austin Butler the different approaches actors have to method acting, winning favour from the actor for mentioning Uta Hagan and her approach to acting. When Evans asked Butler for the best lesson and the worst lesson in his time at acting school, Butler responded but also mentioned an anecdote he hopes was true about Marlon Brando.

So the story goes, according to Butler, is that while attending an acting class Marlon Brando was tasked with the rest of the students to act like a chicken and that a nuclear bomb was about to drop on top of them. While everyone else portrayed chickens panicking at the prospect, Brando’s chicken was just casually pecking at the ground in front of him.

When the teacher asked Brando what he was doing, as a bomb was about to drop, Brando responded: “I’m a chicken. How do I know what a bomb is?”

The man knows how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Butler’s relationship with his mum was explored and honoured numerous times throughout the interview, with a story about how the pair rode a brand new rollercoaster at Knott’s Berry Farm near the family home in Buena Park, California four times in a row and how he would go home for lunch and watch daytime television including design shows that would inspire the pair - for a brief few moments.

After finishing the final wing, Sean Evans rolled out all the ingredients required to make a peanut butter and jam sandwich and asked Butler what his method was to create a good one. We learned that Butler is a fan of smooth peanut butter and grape jelly and that he prefers to have peanut butter on both slices of bread.

We then learned just how important the sandwich was to Austin Butler; he told Evans that he was the only person at his school who was allowed to go home for lunch, where every day his mum would have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ready for him. For Butler, the taste always reminds him of home and was surprised how the peanut butter complemented the remaining spice in his mouth from the challenge.

You can watch the entire episode of Hot Ones, and catch up with previous episodes, by visiting the show’s official YouTube channel.