‘Masters Of The Air’ Star Callum Turner On The ‘Grueling,’ ‘Mind-Blowing’ Apple TV+ Series

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Just a month into 2024 and Callum Turner is already having one hell of a year.
The 33-year-old British actor can count the George Clooney-directed sports drama The Boys in the Boat and the Steven Spielberg-produced World War II series, Masters of the Air, amongst his recent on-screen credits. Both roles have earned him praise from critics, thrusting him into the spotlight with Hollywood “It” boys of the moment like Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan – who, coincidentally, serve as his co-stars on the Apple TV+ show.
And, in what may be the most definitive piece of evidence concerning the question of whether Turner has “made it,” he’s now fielding rumors during red carpet walks that he’s in the running to become the next James Bond. (He’s not, that he knows of.)
With his role as Major John “Bucky” Eagan in the Spielberg and Tom Hanks-backed Band of Brothers off-shoot, Turner trades on his physicality, vibrating with barely-contained rage in every scene he’s in. The high-flying bomber pilot is reckless, antagonistic, and ill-equipped to weather the emotional brunt of war, but his heroics in the air and his care for his men weigh the scales.
Uproxx chatted with Turner about his personal connection to the big-budget war series, being a loose cannon on set, and trying to lose his American accent once filming was done.
Was a World War II movie near the top of your acting bucket list?
Not anymore, but it was, for sure. The truth is that my granddad went to war when he was 16 years old, and I grew up on the stories that people would tell about him. I’ve always been fascinated by this moment in history and how miraculously the Allies managed to win and how close we came so many times to losing — how many mistakes got made and how fragile life is. I guess that’s what it represents, how lucky we are that we live in this time. I didn’t know about the Eighth Air Force and I didn’t know about the 100th, and I’m just very grateful that I get to be a part of this story, to shine a light on their legacy.
I always thought it would be the infantrymen who had the toughest time down there on the ground, but actually, it was these guys. They would fly into the face of adversity, into hell, and lose men left, right, and center. What’s exceptional about our show is that we experience that. We go up with them and we see that hell, and we see that pain and we see how outrageous it is, what they had to put themselves through. Only 23% of them make it, which is such a low number. It just blows my mind. And we watch them deal with grief and trauma, the effect that has on their mind, body, and soul.
Your The Boys In The Boat role required a lot from you physically. Did this show challenge you in a similar way?
Absolutely. It’s tight in those planes, it really is. And you’ve got a lot of gear on. You’ve got your flak vest, you’ve got your life jacket, you’ve got your parachute rig. I’m also 6’2″, which is a lot big for better SEO.