An Open Letter to Disney/Lucasfilm: 22.5 reasons why I should be the new Han Solo

Honestly I should just stop this letter right here. What more evidence do you need?

Dear Disney/Lucasfilm,

Jack Butler. I'm captain of the Millennial generation. I am a young adult male who is grateful for the new Star Wars media The Force Awakens has begun. And unlike a small but loud minority of people, I thought The Force Awakens was a really great way to move the epic saga forward.

A few weeks ago, I had a dream that Harrison Ford showed up at my house for a party. My dream self was happy but not terribly surprised to see him there, and treated him with mature respect, not fanboy obsession. I told him that he was great in The Force Awakens. In response, he thanked me, but said that I wasn't too bad myself. My dream then cut to a scene that it created in which I had a small but important role in the movie.

Was this just the wish fulfillment of my hyperactive subconsciousness, or was it a prophetic, Force-inspired vision? For a while, I thought it was the former. But now I'm starting to think it was the latter. Recently, you announced the shortlist of young actors who could star in the upcoming Star Wars Han Solo prequel (news of which first emerged on July 7, 2015, my 22nd birthday), which Phil Lord and Chris Miller (22 Jump Street, The LEGO Movie [which is great]) will direct, and Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Jake Kasdan, his son, will script. Shockingly, I was not on this list.

My  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ reaction when I learned I didn't make the initial Han Solo casting list.

Fortunately, it is not too late for you to alter this list. I pray that you do alter it further. For not only do I belong on it, but I really ought to be at the top of it. But if the case for casting me, a complete unknown about whom you know nothing, as a young Han Solo isn't obvious, I have provided 22 reasons here to prove that I am not just having delusions of grandeur.
 
1) You're looking for an actor between the ages of 20 and 25. Well guess what: I'm 22 [wow, there's that number again! Must be a sign] years and six months old, right in the middle of your age range. A perfect fit.

2) I'm a normal Midwestern nobody, just like Harrison Ford was before he hit it big. He was born of Irish ancestry in Chicago, was a Boy Scout and attended college in Wisconsin; I was born of Irish ancestry in Cincinnati, got as far as Cub Scout (not as impressive, I'll admit), and attended college in Michigan. Also, as a result, I have a Midwestern, neutrally-accented voice, but also a great vocal range, as my lead singing in the two below videos indicates:

                   

 

and impressive impersonation/improvisation abilities should the need arise:



Click here or go to 2:26 in the clip below to see what needs may arise:






3) I have the appearance of a relatively generic, average, brown-haired, young adult white male of average height (6 feet) and build, which seems to be what you're looking for. And I look about as much like a young Han Solo as any of the other generic, average, brown-haired, young adult white males purportedly up for the role, probably more (credit to the AV Club for all images below that aren't of me):

Emory Cohen

Scott Eastwood

Logan Lerman

Blake Jenner

Jack Reynor

Dave Franco

Jack Butler, clearly the superior Jack on this list

Miles Teller

Ansel Elgort

Oh, look at that! It's me again.

4) I'm in good enough shape to do the fairly basic running, jumping, and shooting that Han Solo does, but not in a freaky-bodybuilder good shape that would distract or detract from my appeal.

5) I'm young-looking but not too young-looking, and maintain a healthy lifestyle that will likely keep me looking young for as long as you want me in the role.

6) I may not have made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, but I have broken 15 minutes in the 5k, 25 minutes in the 8k, run a sub-1:11 half marathon, and a sub-2:35 marathon.

7) I would shoot first.

8) I don't like it when people tell me the odds.

9) Sometimes I amaze even myself.

10) I can definitely be scruffy-looking.

This chart proves how scruffy-looking I can be.

As for nerfherder: We did not have any in Ohio or Michigan. But we do have a lot of farmers. And I did use a nerf gun in the picture above. That has to count for something.

11) Like Han Solo, I have won a medal (see above).

12) Also like Han Solo (and unlike that whiny wimp, Luke Skywalker) I can handle the cold.

Pictured: Me, handling the cold. Credit: Caleb Whitmer. That's no moon...

Pictured: Me after running 18 miles in 10 below (no tauntaun necessary)

13) I've seen most of Harrison Ford's movies, including all of the Star Wars saga so far (see points 6-12 for evidence) and every Indiana Jones film.

14) In part because of the previous reason, I can smirk, be facially expressive, and, most important, point.

Harrison Ford, pointing.

Me, pointing. You can barely tell the difference.

15) I'm a nerd who knows and likes the character of Han Solo. But I never bothered to learn his (now-abandoned) Expanded Universe backstory. So I'd be more than willing to take the character in whatever directions the new film decides to go.

16) I like and am good at writing (e.g., this letter) and am quick on my feet, and so could work with the Kasdans on the script and with Lord and Miller on improvising in takes.

17) I can bring to the role part of my own big, unique personality, and can be funny, sarcastic, and deadpan. No, really.

Pictured: funny, deadpan.

18) I am very comfortable performing, and do not suffer stage fright, as the clip below demonstrates (my performance begins at 1:40. Click here for a direct link):



 Compare the above clip to this Harrison Ford scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade:


Uncanny, no?


I have additional acting experience, including an unsettling, visceral, well-received performance as The Joker in a reenactment of the interrogation scene from The Dark Knight. Video of this performance, to my infinite regret, does not exist; this photo will have to do. UPDATE: Except now video of this performance actually does exist; you can watch it below, or here:

Me as the Joker, on the right. Lipstick, flour, and green food coloring, from the original performance.

 I also performed in an award-nominated turn in the difficult lead role of Ed Degas, C'est Moi, the story of an average, unemployed New York man who wakes up one day and decides that he is the French Impressionist painter Edgar Degas. You can find the first few lines of that David Ives play here. See also this news story from my college paper in which I discuss my work ethic in preparing for the role (I read the play every day for several weeks to make sure I memorized all of my lines), and my aspiration to be Daniel Day-Lewis tempered by a realization that such a feat would be difficult. The award was "best newbie" for the Hillsdale College Theater Department. I did not win. It was a tough year. But my lack of recognition has given me a DiCaprio-esque desire to prove myself through hard work. And Harrison Ford hasn't won a Best Actor Oscar yet either (credit for the below pictures to Caroline Kennedy Green). 

Pictured: The opening scene of my performance in Degas, C'est Moi

Pictured: experience in physical comedy, essential for the role of Han Solo

Pictured: the ability to take the absurd seriously, also essential for Han Solo

I am, in addition, a natural performer and an involving storyteller candidly, when not even trying to act, as this completely candid video of me recorded without my knowledge reveals:




19) I am not in the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), nor do I have an agent, and so am willing to be exploited and work for below-market wages and in horrible conditions (or not--whatever it takes to get the job). Basically, if I get the role, I'll be so grateful that you can treat me however you like and I won't care.

20) I have no expectations of a future in acting. So I'll be fine if the movie destroys my acting career, as playing Anakin Skywalker in the the prequels destroyed the careers of Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen. Consider me Bantha fodder. 

21) I have thick skin, so I can take the heat of the inevitable fan disappointment from a Star Wars prequel that people will inevitably say robbed a beloved character of the aura of mysterious roguish charm he once possessed.

22) I'm currently available.

22.5) Bonus fragments that add up to a half reason (to match my age perfectly): I went to the trouble of putting this letter together. That must count for something. And I have a pretty big nose. And some people called me "The Fugitive" in college. Also, incest creeps me out, too.



So there you have it, Disney/Lucasfilm: the carbonite-clad case for casting me as a young Han Solo. At this point, the question isn't "should this movie even be made?" or "why should we cast some nobody with no foot in the industry?" It's "Why haven't we cast him yet?" You really want me in this role. I know. Search your feelings; you know it to be true. And don't worry: There's still time. Have your people call my people. Your odds of getting a better millennial to pilot the Millennium Falcon are at least 3,720 to 1. May the Force be with you as you make your decision. 

Sincerely,

Jack Butler

P.S.

I'm as serious about this as you want me to be. 

P.P.S.

Many thanks to Richard Fariñas, Peter Geoghan, Eric Primiano, Rooney Columbus, and, most important, Ike the dog for making the above pictures possible.