You might've spotted Taylor Swift's brother Austin on her Instagram, but he's much more than a celebrity sibling. With a film degree from the University of Notre Dame and roles in several major movies, he's becoming a star in his own right. At 25, his credits already include Megyn Kelly's Embeds, Ben Affleck’s Live by Night, and Todd Berger’s forthcoming Cover Versions. But it's only the beginning of his Hollywood career, which was the subject of a recent Vanity Fair profile.
While Austin may not have followed in his sister's footsteps, the Swift siblings do have one thing in common: a history of feeling like underdogs. Austin told Vanity Fair that he was ostracized in school due to his weight, and movies provided an escape — which is how he became so infatuated with them. "I would go to the movies, and Daniel Craig was my friend, and Christian Bale was my friend, and Clive Owen was my friend, and Viggo Mortensen was my friend," he recalled.
Watching Taylor's rise to fame has informed Austin's approach to his own career. "Something I learned myself, and learned through watching her, is respect," he said. "You just respect everyone’s time, everyone that you’re working with. They’re all there, it’s all their lives, and you need to put the work in to be worth that."
Another thing Austin has learned from his big sis is the value of hard work and perseverance, he told People last year. "When we were kids, I saw Taylor write songs every day for years when there was no one to play them to," he said. "Having seen that example, how much goes in, how long it took…That’s always going to be bedrock for who I am and who I want to be."