'American Housewife': Anna-Kat Actress Julia Butters Lands Major Netflix Role After Exit

American Housewife alum Julia Butters just landed a role in a major production. Deadline reported on Wednesday that Butters has joined the cast of The Gray Man, a Netflix production from Joe and Anthony Russo. The cast of the film also includes Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas. As American Housewife fans know, Butters, who portrayed Anna-Kat on the series, left the ABC show after four seasons to pursue other projects.

The Russos have reportedly been trying to develop this project for some time. They were previously working with Sony to develop the film, but the package went back on the market over the summer. As a result, Netflix acquired it and set Gosling and Evans to star. When it comes to Netflix's feature projects, The Gray Man will be the streaming service's biggest-budget film to date. Deadline reported that in addition to Butters, the film has also cast Jessica Henwick, Wagner Moura, and Dhanush. The Gray Man is based on a novel by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. The movie is set to be produced by the Russos alongside Mike Larocca, who will produce on behalf of AGBO with Joe Roth, Chris Castaldi, and Jeff Kirschenbaum through the Roth Kirschenbaum banner.

As previously stated, this is a major move for 11-year-old Butters, who left American Housewife ahead of its fifth season. She was replaced by Giselle Eisenberg, who is known for her appearance in the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces. At the time, Deadline reported that Butters was leaving the ABC show in order to "pursue other opportunities." Her departure from the show came on the heels of her turn in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. In the film, Butters portrayed Trudi Fraser, a young actor who formed a bond with Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio). The famed director reportedly discovered her after seeing her on an episode of American Housewife.

"I was telling a scary story to other kids on American Housewife. It was called "Bloody Becky," and it was about a witch who would come out of the mirror and grab them and eat their faces off if they didn't give [my character] all their candy," Butters explained to The Hollywood Reporter in November 2019. "I auditioned once, and then I had a callback. Then he just invited me and my mom over to his office. I was so nervous. I was thinking my heart could be broken at any moment. And he told me that he'd like me to play Trudi Fraser in his movie! I was totally in shock. I didn't know what to say."