Austin Butler is likely one of the busiest actors working in the present day. Following his Academy Award-nominated flip because the titular position in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Butler has established himself as certainly one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and versatile main males. His newest blockbuster, Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing, is a thriller that casts our heartthrob as a bartender who by chance will get thrown into the crime underbelly of New York.
Nonetheless, that is nowhere close to the primary time that Butler has discovered himself taking part in a captivating dreamer who will get carried away with the likes of some troublesome influences in opposition to the backdrop of the Massive Apple. He is been doing that because the very begin of his profession within the 2011 straight-to-video Excessive Faculty Musical sequence spin-off Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey. This seminal position could not have been Butler’s first, however thus far, it’s certainly one of his greatest.
What Is ‘Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey’ About?
Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey primarily focuses on, you guessed it, the anti-hero of the Excessive Faculty Musical franchise, Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale). Set one 12 months following the occasions of Excessive Faculty Musical 3, Sharpay has elected to forego going to varsity (doesn’t look like one thing she would do, however no matter) and take a 12 months off. After performing a showstopper at her mother and father’ nation membership one night time, she is approached by a New York casting director who asks her to fly out and audition for a brand new present he is engaged on. Sharpay begs her mother and father to let her go to the town, they usually agree on one situation: she has one month to ebook the present and show she will be able to hack it, or she has to come back again and work on the nation membership. Moreover, her mom’s buddy’s son, Peyton (Butler), who’s a pupil at NYU, will regulate her.
After all, when Sharpay arrives within the best metropolis on this planet, it is not precisely what she anticipated. For one, she is kicked out of her luxurious pre-paid penthouse as a result of they don’t permit canine (and if her companion Boi goes, she goes!). Then, after every thing, it seems that the casting director didn’t even need her; he wished Boi. The present is known as A Woman’s Greatest Buddy, and there is not even a component for Sharpay! Nicely, if you realize Sharpay Evans, you realize that she doesn’t go down simply. Emboldened by her interior sparkle and a budding reference to Peyton, Sharpay resolves to discover a approach to keep and pave her method in New York regardless of the obstacles. Will she land a job earlier than time runs out?
The Function Austin Butler Was Born For
Okay, so Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey just isn’t what most individuals would name “good.” It has a 44% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.8/10 on IMDb. Once I was a baby, nonetheless, it rocked. Extra importantly, Austin Butler fulfills his birthright within the movie: being the love curiosity in a Disney Channel unique film. Whereas it was generally genuinely unsettling to see him so younger watching this within the 12 months 2025, it additionally jogged my memory of simply how lengthy a profession Butler had constructed doing these sorts of tasks earlier than he hit it massive with mainstream movie.
He was on Disney Channel reveals, as effectively, equivalent to Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place. He additionally labored for the competitor, Nickelodeon, making appearances on Zoey 101, Drake & Josh, Ned’s Declassified Faculty Survival Information, and extra. He was even the love curiosity on the CW’s Intercourse and the Metropolis spin-off, The Carrie Diaries, a present this creator is hesitant to ask if anybody else remembers… Nonetheless, Butler leaves an enduring impression like no different in Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey.
It’s troublesome to say simply why Butler shines so brightly in Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey. Perhaps it is the truth that he takes the type of an artsy NYU pictures bro years earlier than Timothée Chalamet even hit the scene. Perhaps it is as a result of his character spends the entire film obsessive about making a documentary about Sharpay, which is clearly pleasant romantic fodder. Perhaps it is as a result of it’s merely Butler at his most boyish and free. Whereas “severe grownup actor” Austin Butler can famously be… intense, this model of him is only a man. He appears completely satisfied.
After all, that is speculative, however I’m not alone. Followers have seen, with one Letterboxd consumer commenting on the enduring reputation of the film on the platform, “That is nonetheless certainly one of Austin Butler’s prime 8 hottest movies on Letterboxd.” Is that not value one thing? Whereas he was busy displaying Jimmy Kimmel easy methods to do Elvis’ sidewinder, have been pictures of pink sparkles and little canine flashing in his reminiscence? Maybe if he needs to proceed changing into one of many all-time greats, Austin Butler must return to the foundational texts: “Gotta Shine” from the Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey solid recording.
Sharpay’s Fabulous Journey is streaming on Disney+.