Austin Butler sparked buzz after revealing he once woke up in his underwear during behind-the-scenes moments on his latest project. The actor opened up about experiences on set that highlighted his immersive approach to the role. He also shared how his preparation blurred the line between performance and real life.
Here’s what we know about his method, the challenges he faced, and the unique experience that shaped his work.
Austin Butler talks about his Caught Stealing set experience
Speaking to Variety, Austin Butler said, “I played music, I danced around, and I ate Chinese food in there. It made me feel like I really lived there. I slept there all night, and I woke up to the crew coming in while I was in my underwear.” The apartment set served as his character’s East Village home, and Butler explained that the process helped him fully immerse himself in the role.
He noted, “There are many things that conspire against you when you’re making a movie. You’ve got the lights and the camera and the set doesn’t have a ceiling, because they’ve got to light it from above. It’s tempting to look around and break the illusion. So the more I can do to trick myself, the more important it is.” Butler said the approach allowed him to remove distractions and build authenticity.
Butler admitted that playing Hank felt different from past roles. “Playing a character that feels more like myself left me with nowhere to hide and made me feel vulnerable,” he shared. He described Hank as an alcoholic bartender whose dream of a baseball career ended after an injury. “He needed to have the physicality of somebody who was an elite athlete, but who was no longer in peak physical shape. I wanted to have a certain thickness. So I worked out, but I also drank a lot of beer.”
In an interview with Men’s Health earlier this month, Butler confirmed that he gained 35 pounds for the role, saying, “I’ve got a whole section of Celine pants that I just can’t even wear anymore.” Director Darren Aronofsky, who adapted the project from a graphic novel, said, “Austin goes really deep. In fact, I often asked him to work a little less hard and to relax a little bit because I wanted a certain looseness.”
Caught Stealing opens in theaters on August 29 and also stars Zoë Kravitz, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, and Bad Bunny.
