Austin Butler had another unique approach to preparing for a movie role — and this time, it involved baseball players’ butts.
The Oscar-nominated actor is starring in Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film Caught Stealing, where he plays a baseball player caught in a web of crime. To embody the physicality of the character, Butler took his cues from Major League Baseball’s finest. And yes, that included studying their backsides.
“I actually have a whole section of just baseball players’ asses that he would send me,” Butler, 34, told Men’s Health in his cover story published on Tuesday, August 19. “He was like, ‘Look how thick they are!’”
The idea came from director Darren Aronofsky, who thought that the physical build of pro athletes would help Butler understand the body language of the role. To prepare, Butler also worked closely with trainer Beth Lewis, known for training Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Alongside an intense fitness plan, Butler had to follow a diet that might sound fun in theory — but wasn’t his favorite. “Drinking has never been my thing,” he explained, despite being told to bulk up with pizza and beer. “I don’t like the way it makes me feel.”
When he started training, Butler weighed 150 pounds. Six months later, he had gained 35 pounds to reach 185. “I’ve got a whole section of Celine pants that I just can’t even wear anymore,” he admitted.
But the preparation wasn’t just physical. Over the years, Butler has shifted his approach to acting. “For a long time, I felt that it had to be a tortured process and I would come out the other side broken,” he said. Now, instead of hiding parts of himself, he finds ways to integrate even the “gross bits” into his performances.
That perspective grew after his transformative role in Elvis, which earned him an Academy Award nomination in 2022. Butler admitted that the experience left him feeling lost when it was over. “It’s done, after three years,” he reflected. “And then it’s like, ‘Wait, what do I focus on now? What do I read about? What do I watch? What do I like?’ And also, I haven’t talked to my friends. ‘Who do I call?’”
Now, Butler is learning to lean on his personal connections to stay grounded outside of Hollywood’s demands. “There’s something about filming: Everybody tells you what time to show up, they get you dressed, they show you where your mark is,” he explained. “It can be very infantilizing, and it can be very centered on me. It feels better when I’m calling a friend and just going, ‘I don’t need anything from you; I just want to know: Are you okay? Can I do anything for you?’”
