It turns out Austin Butler almost set the arena on fire in *The Hunger Games*! Yes, our very own Elvis reincarnate, the 32-year-old Oscar-nominated heartthrob, tried to snag the role of Peeta. Spoiler alert: it did not go as planned.
In an interview with BuzzFeed Celeb on a regular old Wednesday (June 26), Austin dropped the bombshell that he auditioned for the role of Peeta Mellark, the baker’s boy with a penchant for frosting and fighting. But, alas, the casting gods were not in his favor. “I don’t even think I got a callback for the character Peeta,” Austin confessed, possibly while stuffing his face with a comforting batch of cookies.
Instead, the role went to Josh Hutcherson, who apparently has the perfect combination of boy-next-door charm and a knack for handling deadly berries. Austin, ever the gracious almost-Peeta, had nothing but praise for Josh. “He’s great,” Austin said, probably while secretly plotting to challenge him to a bread-baking duel.
In an alternate universe, Austin Butler might have been the one dodging fireballs and making goo-goo eyes at Katniss. But, for now, we’ll just have to settle for imagining him in a baker’s apron, wistfully frosting cupcakes and dreaming of what could have been.
