The premier event in American racing — the Indianapolis 500 — returns to the spotlight this Memorial Day weekend.
The 2024 edition of the race promises to be a spectacle. Josef Newgarden took home the trophy last year, leaping his way to immortality after making a last-lap pass to edge 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson.
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Last year's race offered plenty of drama. And yet this year's iteration could be even more enthralling, especially with the addition of NASCAR Cup Series icon Kyle Larson into the starting grid.
The Brickyard is going Hollywood for this year's race, and not just metaphorically. A pair of the film industry's biggest stars will mark the occasion with a flourish, serving as the race's honorary starters.
Here's what you need to know about Austin Butler and Jodie Comer, the two actors tasked with leading off the proceedings Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Who is Austin Butler?
Butler is one of the most in-demand actors in the film industry as of late. His upcoming "The Bikeriders" prompted his Indy 500 appearance Sunday alongside co-star Comer.
The 32-year old started his career as a child actor on programs littered across the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon catalogues.
He parlayed that early success into big-budget film roles, including the titular role in "Elvis." The 2022 biopic earned him Golden Globe and BAFTA awards and an Academy Award nomination.
Already in 2024, he has starred in blockbuster "Dune: Part Two" and miniseries "Masters of the Air." Now he is promoting "The Bikeriders,", a movie portraying the life and times of motorcyclists in the Midwest.
“Austin and Jodie star in a movie focused on two wheels, but they’re about to experience the exhilaration of 33 of the fastest cars on four wheels as they stand atop the flag stand and wave the green flag to officially start the world’s greatest race,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement. “This is one of the most powerful and exciting moments in all of sports."
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Who is Jodie Comer?
Much like Butler, Comer is a veteran in the film industry despite being only 31 years old.
The Liverpool native was a fixture in England's biggest programs, namely BBC America's "Killing Eve", for which she garnered a BAFTA award and an Emmy for her performance as assassin Villanelle.
Comer has since transitioned into roles on the silver screen, starring in "Free Guy," "The Last Duel," "The End We Start From" and "The Bikeriders." She also headlined the one-woman play "Prima Facie," for which Comer nabbed both a Laurence Olivier Award and a Tony in 2023.
Comer and Butler join the list of movie stars who have waved the lime-green banner on race day at the Indy 500.
Last year, Adam Driver kicked off the proceedings. Other notable film icons to serve as honorary starters include Chris Hemsworth, Matt Damon, Christian Bale and Miles Teller.
