Austin Butler recently talked about the time he thought he was dying while on his way to film The Bikeriders. The actor, who has found considerable success and popularity in recent times thanks to films like Elvis and Dune: Part Two, is currently awaiting the release of Caught Stealing. This upcoming film is directed by Darren Aronofsky and co-stars Regina King, Matt Smith, and Zoë Kravitz, among others. The story follows a former baseball player who gets roped into New York’s criminal underworld.
Austin Butler talks about the moment he thought he was dying
Austin Butler recently sat down for an interview with Men’s Health ahead of Caught Stealing’s release. In it, he discussed his struggles with his acting career and how his perception of the craft had changed. During the discussion, he recalled the time he suffered a migraine and temporary blindness while on his way to film The Bikeriders, which made him think he was approaching death’s door.
“It felt like the life was being sucked from my body,” Butler said. “I suddenly felt a euphoric sensation and I actually genuinely thought I was dying.” However, Butler’s eyesight soon returned to normal. He went to the set and worked for the entire day. Butler dismissed the health scare experience as a side effect of sleep deprivation.
This isn’t the only time the Masters of the Air actor suffered from health issues. In 2021, he spent one week in the hospital after filming Elvis, due to developing appendicitis-like pain. Later, he suffered from foot pain during his press tour for Dune: Part Two in South Korea.
Additionally, in the interview, Butler opened up about how he once felt acting “had to be a tortured process,” which would make him “come out the other side broken.” However, he shared that acting mentors like Laura Dern, who he said reminded him of his mother, made him realize that he could balance both his health and work.
“She’s helping me more and more to see that you can come out the other side, and maybe bits of you have healed, and synthesized, and metabolized,” Butler shared. “It can be therapeutic, in a way.”
Caught Stealing will arrive in theaters across the United States on August 29, 2025.
