Tom Hanks recruited Austin Butler for 'Masters of the Air' while they were working on 'Elvis' together

During an appearance on UK TV show 'This Morning', Austin explained: "I knew [I'd got the 'Masters of the Air' job] right towards the end [of 'Elvis'].

"I didn't know what was going to happen with 'Elvis' so I was looking for my next job and Tom said I've got this World War Two thing that we're working on and that was how it came about."

The show was brought to the screen by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks who had previously worked on World War II miniseries 'Band of Brothers' and 'The Pacific', and Austin insisted he felt honoured to be a part of the team.

He added: "It was special [working with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks 'Masters of the Air'] ... at the boot camp Tom came and gave a rousing speech to all the guys there. It's the best team in the business."

Austin added that the actors all attended a bootcamp together where they were pushed to train just like real soldiers. He explained: "Yeah we did a [proper boot camp] ... we did the sit ups and push up and all that ... because of COVID we weren't living together at that time... but we were there all day ... "

The actor previous insisted the gruelling training for 'Masters of the Air' was the perfect tonic for him after he spent so long immersed in the world of Elvis Presley.

Austin told Total Film: "I went immediately into boot camp [after 'Elvis]. I went from being on stage in a jumpsuit to being just one of 50 guys in fatigues. It was really humbling, and there's something about the uniformity that I think started to cleanse me."