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Austin Butler has become an instant star after his starring role in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. Aside from that movie, he’s also appeared in box office hits such as Once Upon A Time In Hollywood and The Dead Don’t Die. At this point, he’s become the face of young Hollywood actors alongside other stars like Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya.
Unknown to many fans, Austin has been in the acting game for a while. He used to show up on many kids shows back in the 2000s, making appearances on series such as Hannah Montana and Zoey 101. Fans of those shows might remember Austin playing love interests for each show’s respective main character.
There have been rumors spreading on the internet lately that Austin may have had some real-life romances with some of the stars on those shows. While he was never in the High School Musical films, he did date Vanessa Hudgens for 8 years. Is she the only former child star that he would end up dating?
What Movies And Disney Shows Has Austin Butler Appeared In?
Austin’s first role on a Nickelodeon or Disney show was actually on Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. He played a background character on a few different occasions, never having any speaking roles.
Austin finally got a major role on Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana. Hannah Montana was such a popular show in the 2000’s and was arguably Disney’s most popular sitcom of all time.
According to Kiddle, Hannah Montana’s crossover with the Jonas Brothers was the most-watched live-action Disney Channel episode of all time. A lot of actors from Hannah Montana have had success, such as Miley. Some actors such as Moises Arias have faded from the limelight in pursuit of other endeavors.
The show was clearly popular. Even One Direction member Niall Horan is an admitted Hannah Montana lover, recently covering the show’s theme song ‘The Best Of Both Worlds’.
Austin played Miley’s love interest Derek Hansen, but he only showed up in one episode. However, due to how big the show was, it opened up many avenues in Austin’s career. From this point onward, he would have speaking roles in every child show appearance. This includes his roles in Wizards of Waverly Place, Jonas, and Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure.
He would then switch back from Disney Channel to Nickelodeon. On Nick, he showed up as a love interest in both Zoey 101 and iCarly. His biggest role was on Zoey 101, where he played the jock character James Garett.
Once again, he played a boyfriend for the main character Zoey. This was easily Austin’s biggest role in this stage of his career, as he was a recurring character for quite some time. He even showed up in the Zoey 101 movie.
Did Austin Butler Ever Date Any Of His Nickelodeon Or Disney Co-Stars?
Considering that Austin was on a lot of Nickelodeon and Disney shows in the late 2000s, did he ever date or hook up with any co-stars during that time? The answer for the most part is no, but he has dated some fellow child actors over the years.
Austin did have some great friendships with his Disney co-stars, however. In particular, Austin has had a fantastic friendship with Ashley Tisdale. The actress who appeared in the Suite Life and Phineas and Ferb series, per Us Weekly, has had a tremendous relationship with Austin. They’re outright BFFs, and their relationship has been chronicled over the years.
According to People, the only actress Austin dated in the 2000s was model Cody Kennedy. Similarly to Austin, she appeared on several Disney shows as a romantic interest. However, they didn’t last long.
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While Austin and Vanessa Hudgens never acted together, they both were a part of the High School Musical universe. In a way, Austin kind of has dated a co-star – just not in the way most fans would think of.
Vanessa was Austin’s longest relationship, lasting 8 years from 2012 until 2020. According to Hollywood Life, Austin and Vanessa were completely private about their relationship a few years before Vanessa declared her love for Austin in 2014. She took it to Instagram to make things official and even declared Austin the “love” of her life at that point.
From that point onward, their love was still kept under wraps for the most part. Austin and Vanessa were accused of vandalism back in 2016, but aside from that, their love was kept out of the limelight. They would then break up in 2020 and have moved on from each other since.
Aside from Vanessa, Austin has also dated Olivia DeJong and Lily Rose-Depp. He is now seeing model Kaia Gerber.
What Has Vanessa Hudgens Said About Austin Butler’s Elvis Success?
Austin’s role as Elvis has truly put the young actor on the map. He’s appeared in many hit shows and movies, but Elvis was the first time Butler got a true starring role. Playing Elvis took a toll on Austin, even resulting in his body shutting down immediately after filming wrapped up.
How have some of Austin’s Disney and Nick co-stars reacted to the newfound sensation? None of them have really commented on Austin’s Elvis success quite yet, except for one person really close to Butler.
That’s right, Vanessa herself has commented on Austin and his Elvis movie.
It started with Austin thanking Vanessa for inspiring him to audition for the role when they were still together. He did so a few times on the press tour for the film. After that, a news article went viral about Austin’s voice being permanently stuck as Elvis’s cadence. Vanessa commented on one of the posts with one word – “crying”.
The two of them actually ran into each other at the 2023 Oscars and talked to each other. As awkward as it may have been, there don’t seem to be many hard feelings between them. Vanessa came out on social media afterward and begged fans not to be negative about the situation.
Childhood fame can really affect young stars, and it’s amazing that both Austin and Vanessa seem to be mentally intact. While Miley Cyrus has seemingly overcome her troubled phase, Amanda Bynes has recently been put on psychiatric hold after a bizarre incident.
Exposure to fame and the limelight at a young age might not be the sole reason for one’s mental struggles, but it certainly plays a huge part. Miley, Amanda, Demi Lovato and more have all openly discussed how fame has been an antagonist in their lives. However, Austin has remained focused on acting, and it’s paid off decades later.
