‘Masters of the Air’s’ Callum Turner, Austin Butler on what drew them to the WWII drama

Like Band of Brothers and The Pacific before it, Masters of the Air helps tell the story of U.S. soldiers during World War II who faced incredible odds while fighting the Axis powers. The latest miniseries from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks debuts Friday on Apple TV+, focusing on the pilots and crew of the 100th Bomb Group.

Callum Turner, who stars as Major John “Bucky” Egan, thinks it’s an incredible story of bravery. He tells ABC Audio, “Seventy-seven percent of these guys who went up didn’t come back. They either got shot down, killed or end up in a P.O.W. camp. So you had a 23% chance of survival and, you know, to keep going up and fighting in the face of adversity and stand up for evil, and then achieving what they did and winning the war.”

“These guys helped shift the momentum,” he adds. “And it’s so important that we tell this story and shine the light on their legacy because they’re heroes, man. And like, I’m just so grateful to them because we wouldn’t be living the lives that we’re living if it wasn’t for them.”

Austin Butler plays Major Gale “Buck” Cleven in the film. He tells ABC Audio playing this role changed him.

“You’re seeing your best friends leave you and, constantly, day after day, and the psychological and physical toll of that is just unfathomable,” he says. “So, I think, you know, it just has filled me with nothing but admiration and respect and gratitude.”