Austin Butler reacts to throwback video where he pitches himself as 'the first American James Bond'

The 2012 photoshoot is also the first time he crossed paths with Zendaya, his “Dune: Part 2” costar.

Even at a young age, Austin Butler knew he was destined for vigorous accent work.

During his Monday night visit to The Tonight Show, the Elvis actor was confronted with a blast from his past: video of a 2012 Teen Vogue photoshoot filmed for the magazine's Young Hollywood edition. Coincidentally, the circus-themed shoot marked his first time crossing paths with his Dune: Part Two costar Zendaya — but more importantly, it features the then-20-year-old actor revealing which iconic role he hopes to someday play.

Although the answer wasn’t Elvis Presley, his dream role would still require a dedicated dialect coach.

“I could be the first American James Bond,” a young Butler proposed in the clip (below) before clarifying, “I would do it with a British accent.”

After host Jimmy Fallon played the clip, the crowd erupted into applause while Butler shook his head.

“Yes! You should be the first American James Bond,” Fallon declared. “We love it.”

Butler, still shaking his head, laughed, “That’s crazy. What was I thinking?”

With the embarrassment hopefully subsiding, Butler went on to say that he now sees the error of his ways. "I grew up loving James Bond,” he told Fallon, but added, “No, he's gotta be British."

As anyone who's seen a single post-Elvis interview knows too well, Butler is no stranger to doing dialect work for a new role. The actor took on an intensive approach to perfecting his voice as the King of rock & roll, doing such a good job that he later needed a dialect coach just to rid himself of Elvis’ voice.

That being said, Butler is only partially correct when it comes to Bond. While an American has yet to take up the 007 mantle, not every actor who's played the famous spy comes from British origins: Sean Connery was Scottish, Pierce Brosnan is Irish, and George Lazenby is Australian.

Though Butler has yet to sip martinis as 007, he did get to reunite with fellow child star Zendaya in Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic, Dune: Part Two. Though the duo haven’t previously shared the screen together, their Disney Channel days weren't very far apart.

"We kind of overlapped at that time," Butler told Fallon, adding that he had forgotten about the photoshoot until Zendaya recently reminded him.

Butler and Zendaya star alongside Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem and more in Dune: Part Two, which picks up where Part One left off as Paul Atreides navigates the deserts of Arrakis while seeking revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. The film hits theaters on March 1.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• See Dune: Part Two stars enter the desert in exclusive set photos

• Austin Butler 'went home in tears' after Baz Luhrmann made studio execs heckle him for Elvis

• Zendaya says she refused to have her first kiss on the Disney show Shake It Up
  

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.