Career
Austin made his television debut in 2009 playing Jesse on ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager”, which ended up turning into a recurring guest role. Later, he appeared as Chad in an episode of the Comedy Central sitcom “Secret Girlfriend”.
The next year, Austin appeared in episodes of “90210” and “NCIS: Los Angeles” before making his feature film debut in 2011 as an ER medic in the drama “Puncture” starring Chris Evans. Also that year, he would star alongside Harry Connick, Jr. and Nathan Gamble in “Dolphin Tale”, a story centered on the friendship between a boy and a dolphin whose tail was lost in a crab trap, as Kyle Connellan. He next appeared in the short film “Can You Watch This” and starred in “Without a Mom”.
In 2013, Austin starred as Dalton Joiner alongside Liam Hemsworth in the historical romantic drama “Love and Honor”, which also starred Teresa Palmer and Aimee Teagarden. He would also make an appearance as a backstage flirt in the biographical drama “Behind the Candelabra” starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. Also been in short film titled “Cause of Death” and the Hallmark movie “A Way Back Home”.
In 2014 began with being a part of the incredible ensemble for the critically acclaimed drama “Whiplash”, where he portrayed the role of Ryan. The film follows a promising young drummer enrolling at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student’s potential. Later in the year, he appeared in “Warren” as Ted Gordon and “Behaving Badly” as Kevin Carpenter before returning to his character Kyle Connellan in Dolphin Tale 2. Austin finished the year with a short film titled “I Can See You”, playing the 26-year-old version of the character Derek.
In 2015 to star alongside Edward Burns in the series “Public Morals” playing the role of Sean O’Bannon. The series follows the New York City Public Morals Division in the 1960s, where cops walk the line between morality and criminality as the temptations that come from dealing with all kinds of vice can get the better of them. In November, Austin would portray Francis Gary Powers in the Steven Spielberg historical drama “Bridge of Spies”, which starred Tom Hanks. In 2016, he played Eddie in “In Dubious Battle” alongside James Franco and Vincent D’Onofrio, followed by Joel in “Colossal” with Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis.
In 2017, Austin starred alongside Dominic Cooper as Hank in “Stratton”, a film following a British Special Boat Service commando tracks down an international terrorist cell. Later, he portrayed Larry King in “Battle of the Sexes”, which followed the true story of the 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs. The film starred Emma Stone and Steve Carell. Austin was also featured in the television movie “Controversy” as Matt Kellerman opposite Anthony Edwards and Erin Moriarty.
In 2018 he in the historical action drama “12 Strong” where he portrayed Fred Falls. The film tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain, the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban. “12 Strong” starred Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, and Michael Peña. Austin followed up with the sci-fi film “Higher Power” as Michael. In 2019 he portrays the role of Nately in the Hulu mini-series “Catch-22”, based on the classic Joseph Heller novel, before starring opposite Haley Bennet in “Swallow”, playing the role of Richie Conrad.
In 2020, Austin played one of the main characters in Blumhouse’s “Fantasy Island” as Patrick Sullivan, which follows a collection of guests to live out their most elaborate fantasies in relative seclusion on a luxurious island. The film also starred Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, and Ryan Hansen. He would also portray Lieutenant Theodore Cole in an episode of the Apple TV+ series “Amazing Stories”, the episode follows a WWII pilot crashing in modern-day Ohio, where a young widow and her stepson are swept up in his search for home.
Austin appeared in an episode of “The White Lotus” as a hotel guest in 2021. During the holiday season, he would reunite with his Fantasy Island co-star Lucy Hale for the adaptation of Sally Thorne’s beloved romance novel The Hating Game where Austin portrayed Joshua Templeman. In summer of 2022 brought in the Netflix mini series Keep Breathing , where he portrayed the role of Sam. The series follows Liv, the lone survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness. In 2023 brought Peacock’s A Friend of the Family limited series, where Austin portrayed Pete Welch. The series follows the harrowing true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years in the 1970s by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend”, it quickly went to the #1 spot on Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows in US.
In March 2024, he was announced to play a young Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the brand new NCIS series NCIS: Origins , following his character as he begins his journey in the Naval Investigative Service (NIS). The series is premiered on October 14th.
He also starring in “The Inheritance” was released in June, where Austin portrayed Drew Abernathy alongside Peyton List and Rachel Nichols. He also appeared in a few episodes of the Showtime mini-series “Three Women”, starring Shailene Woodley and Betty Gilpin.
Austin’s upcoming projects include The Long Home , a film directed and starring James Franco, and The Tempting Madness , a thriller written and directed by Jennifer E. Montgomery.
