Sharon Stone is doing what she can to help support a young artist she respects very much — Austin Butler.
The 66-year-old actress came out to the premiere of Butler’s new film, The Bikeriders, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Monday, and spoke with ET’s Nischelle Turner about her instant bond with the 32-year-old Elvisstar.
“I really adore Austin. I think he’s such a great kid and I love the way he’s coming on in his career,” Stone shared with a smile. “I think it’s wonderful.”
Butler shared similar sentiments while speaking with ET at Monday’s premiere, recalling his first real meeting with Stone at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2022.
“We have a really special connection, because when Elvis premiered in Cannes, she was sitting right in front of me,” Butler recalled fondly.
“I was at the Elvis premiere and, I have to say, I’ve been in a lot of premieres, I’ve been to a lot of premieres in Cannes, and this is the only time I saw what happened to me happen to someone else,” Stone said, referring to Butler’s meteoric rise to superstardom. “It was so incredible to witness this happen to another person, and I just wanted to make sure that he had someone that he knew he could count on no matter what, because it’s not easy to hold onto the rocket.”
“I really do, I love that kid, and I really believe in him,” she continued. “I know what his journey and destiny looks like and I want to make sure he’s cool.”
As Butler and Stone both explained, she’s routinely kept in touch and checked in on him since they first met, as she feels somewhat protective.
“Well, when this thing happens to you, it’s a very specific thing and it’s a light that comes on in you and others see it and people appreciate it,” Stone said of Butler’s intangible “it” factor. “At the same time, people envy it and they can become very cruel about it and it’s a hard thing to walk with grace and and it’s really important that you walk it with honesty and sincerity.”
For Stone, she received some guidance in her early years from Sylvester Stallone — whom she co-starred with inThe Specialist in 1994.
“When I first got famous, Sly said to me, ‘You’re one of us now,’ and I said, ‘One of who?’ And he said, ‘You know, you, me, Dolly,’ and I was like, ‘Oh….’ It took me a minute,” she recalled. “He really made sure I was OK, you know? And when we worked together, he was really great to me, and it really meant the world to me.”
For Butler, he’s also built a strong bond with his Bikeriders co-stars, including Tom Hardy, Mike Faist and Jodie Comer.
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve had a very lucky life where I’ve been able to work with some fantastic people,” Butler marveled.
The Bikeriders is about a Midwestern motorcycle club called the Vandals that becomes part of a dangerous underworld of violence. The film arrives in theaters nationwide on June 21.
