Austin Butler and Jimmy Kimmel shared quite a wild night. The duo sat down for an interview on Monday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, recounting the last time the saw each other at an unbelievably star-studded party hosted by Paul McCartney.
“Last time I saw you was at maybe the craziest party I’ve ever been to in my whole life,” Kimmel began their chat.
“That was insane,” Butler agreed.
“It was like a party where Tom Hanks is going, ‘Oh my God, can you believe who’s here?!'” Kimmel joked.
He went on to name a number of the attendees, including the living members of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Meryl Streep, among others.
“Taylor Swift showed up,” he teased.
“Yeah, she was DJing at one point,” Butler then revealed.
“She’s not working enough,” Kimmel quipped. “She’s got to work at the party.”
Taylor Swift performs on stage during during “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at Anfield on June 13, 2024 in Liverpool, England. – Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
The 32-year-old Elvis actor also relayed a story Springsteen had shared with him about a time that the latter hopped the fence at Graceland and knocked on the door in an attempt to deliver a song to the Elvis Presley.
The “Blue Suede Shoes” singer was, unfortunately, out of town.
“I had heard this sort of mythical story, and then to hear it from him,” Butler marveled.
“And this is when Bruce Springsteen, by the way, had been on the cover of Time magazine, on the cover of Rolling Stone, I mean, he was not some unknown kid from New Jersey,” Kimmel explained. “He was famous.”
The duo said that Springsteen gave the song to a security guard to pass along to Presley, but nothing ever came of it.
“I’m so bummed I never got to hear that song,” Butler lamented.
Austin Butler is seen at “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on June 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. – RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images
Butler was most starstruck, he said, by Streep.
“She’s just the greatest,” he gushed. “I felt like, you know in high school when you have a crush on somebody and they’re across the room and you don’t really know how to say hello to them? That’s how it was. I saw her there and I couldn’t believe I was in the same room.”
The actor was too “nervous” to introduce himself, so he excused himself to McCartney’s kitchen and “ate some of his vegan pizza” from the buffet. An unnamed friend, noticing that Butler was alone at the time, offered to make an introduction.
“I couldn’t believe I was meeting Meryl Streep with Paul McCartney’s vegan pizza in my mouth,” he joked.
The conversation then transitioned to a separate get together, when Butler was invited to “have tacos with Snoop Dogg and Robert De Niro.”
“I dropped everything I was doing and I was there in a heartbeat,” Butler cracked.
Amid Butler’s meteoric rise to fame, he’s found support from another star who can relate — Sharon Stone.
The actress came out to the premiere of Butler’s new film, The Bikeriders, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Monday, and spoke with ET about her instant bond with the younger star.
“I really adore Austin. I think he’s such a great kid and I love the way he’s coming on in his career,” Stone shared with a smile. “I think it’s wonderful.”
The Basic Instinct star recalled sitting in front of Butler during the Cannes premiere of Elvis, witnessing the performance that would go on to garner an Academy Award nomination.
“I’ve been in a lot of premieres, I’ve been a lot of premieres in Cannes, and this is the only time I saw what happened to me happen to someone else,” Stone said, referring to Butler’s breakthrough. “It was so incredible to witness this happen to another person, and I just wanted to make sure that he had someone that he knew he could count on no matter what, because it’s not easy to hold onto the rocket.”
“I really do, I love that kid, and I really believe in him,” she continued. “I know what his journey and destiny looks like and I want to make sure he’s cool.”
Austin Butler attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features ‘The Bikeriders’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 17, 2024 in Hollywood, California. – Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Focus Features
For now, Butler is keeping his metaphorical headlights on The Bikeriders, which also stars Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy and Mike Faist. During an interview with ET on Monday, the star responded to Hardy sharing that he would love to work together again.
“He said that?” Butler said, clearly shocked by the kind words from his co-star. “You know, I feel that way about a lot of people. Definitely Tom, Jodie — I mean everybody in this film. I just got to tell Mike Faist what a great job he did in Challengers.”
He added, “I mean, I feel like I’ve had a very lucky life where I’ve been able to work with some fantastic people.”
Butler’s most recent project follows Comer’s character, Kathy, who falls for Benny (Butler) after a chance encounter at a Midwest bar in the 1960s. Things are complicated by Benny’s commitment to his newly-joined motorcycle club, The Vandals, led by Johnny (Hardy). “Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club,” a description of the film reads.
Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, the director of Mud and Loving, the project also stars Nichols’ frequent collaborator Michael Shannon, as well as and The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus.
The Bikeriders arrives in theaters nationwide on June 21.