Barry Keoghan and Austin Butler are ‘two of the most exciting actors’

Anthony Boyle said fellow Irish actor Barry Keoghan and Elvis star Austin Butler were some of the “most exciting actors working right now”.

The Belfast-born actor stars alongside Keoghan and Butler in the upcoming US war drama series Masters of the Air.

The Apple TV+ series, based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller, follows the true story of the men of the 100th Bomb Group during World War II.

Speaking to PA News Agency at the UK premiere of the series on Monday, Boyle said: “Austin and Barry, they are two of the best, I think, the most exciting actors working right now, including Callum, Raf, Nate.

“Every day you come to work and all those guys have such different approaches to work and they’ve all been amazing.”

The series also stars Fantastic Beasts actors Callum Turner, Rafferty Law and Nate Mann, as well as Josiah Cross and Branden Cook.

Last year, Keoghan was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Dominic in Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inishrin – and won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor in the role.

He also received acclaim for his portrayal of the lead character Oliver Quick in Emerald Fennell’s thriller Saltburn, starring alongside Australian actor Jacob Allordi, and was nominated for a BAFTA for the role.

Butler’s turn as the King of Rock and Roll in the 2022 musical biopic Elvis earned him a Golden Globe and BAFTA Award, as well as an Oscar.

Boyle, who rose to fame for his role in the West End show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, plays Major Harry Crosby in the series.

He said preparation for the role required “a lot” of research, including re-reading Major Crosby’s book countless times and listening to clips of him speaking every day before going to work.

He added: “I’ll have it in my head and I’ll get the mannerisms down, get the accent down and really try and play into it.”

The cast also all attended a bootcamp together where they marched and participated in drills together to get them into the army mindset.

The story continues

Butler said: “The bootcamp was incredibly beneficial for us. That was our time when we jumped and we got to learn and have time in the flight simulator – it was an incredible time.

He added: “It was a time when we were, in a way, surrendering our individuality …

“So it was our time that united us and really laid the foundation for the rest of it.”

The series follows the lives of US bombers as they bomb Nazi Germany and deal with bad weather conditions, lack of oxygen and the terror of air combat.

Saving Private Ryan director Steven Spielberg, Hollywood actors Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman also serve as executive producers on the TV series.

Master of the Air will debut on Apple TV+ on January 26 with two episodes, followed by a new episode every Friday until March 15.