Masters of the Air is without a doubt one of the most highly anticipated TV shows of the year. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, it serves as a companion piece to their other two war dramas Band of Brothers and The Pacific. This time however the focus is on the United States Army Air Force, following the story of the 100th Bomb Group who were nicknamed the 'Bloody Hundredth' due to the heavy losses they suffered during combat missions against the Nazis. And if that hasn't already got you excited about the series, the cast list certainly will as it stars - deep breath - Austin Butler, Ncuti Gatwa, Barry Keoghan, Callum Turner, and many more.
It's a project Turner can't wait to release to the world, as he revealed on the recent press tour for his new movie The Boys in the Boat. For that sports drama the actor trained for five months to be able to portray the real-life Olympic medal-winning rower Joe Rantz. And in order to play Major John Egan in Masters of the Air, a similar level of preparation was required.
However, as Turner revealed whilst in conversation with GamesRadar+ and the Inside Total Film podcast, it was a very different process: "The training for that was completely different as it was more academic rather than physical. We couldn't fly the planes for real so we had to learn everything. At that time, I could tell you how to take off and land a Boeing B-17 as we all had to learn that. Actually - you know, Joe Rantz went on to work for Boeing, helping to build planes. Maybe I should keep moving in that direction then, and just go work for Boeing!" Whilst it is a neat connection between his two projects, we do hope that Turner continues with the acting gig!
Turner also spoke about working alongside Butler, who received critical acclaim for his lead role in Elvis and will also be seen in Dune 2 later this year. After rejecting internet rumors that Butler still had his Elvis accent on-set (sorry Twitter), Turner praised his co-star's talent: "He finished Elvis then came to us, with maybe four days off in-between. He's completely different in our show. He has got this John Wayne thing about him. He's a beautiful actor and I loved working with him."
Well, consider us fully sold!
The Boys in the Boat is out in US theaters now and will release in UK cinemas on Friday 12th January. Masters of the Air meanwhile will debut on Apple TV Plus on 26th January.
For more from our interview with Turner alongside The Boys in the Boat director George Clooney, we also spoke to the pair about training for their new sports drama and why casting Hitler for the film was a strange experience. And don't forget to listen to the latest episode of the Inside Total Film podcast for the full conversation.
