Austin Butler Spills the Tea: Not Just a Method Actor, But an Obsession Dynamo—Is There More Than Meets the Eye?
Added on August 29, 2025 inMovie News Cards
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Ever wonder if Austin Butler’s infamous “method acting” label is just Hollywood smoke and mirrors? Well, take a beat—under the Mercury retrograde haze that’s got us all second-guessing every text we sent last week, Butler steps up to clear the air. Despite the chatter labelling him a method actor after his grueling Elvis stint (which frankly had him so deep he had to be rushed to the hospital—yikes!), Austin insists it ain’t quite that black-and-white. Instead of slapping on a “method” sticker, he’s all about full-on immersion, minus the melodrama. So, is he really juggling obsessive prep with a quest for balance, or just a guy who can’t quite shake an accent after three years of channeling The King? Dive in as he dissects his craft, spills a bit on surviving stunt scenes (yes, he really told a co-star to “kick me harder”), and shares what it’s like to live wildly in an often unbalanced acting world. Intrigued? You won’t want to miss this cosmic collision of talent, intensity, and truth. LEARN MORE
Austin Butler is clearing up some misconceptions surrounding his acting approach.
Butler has been called a method actor, but he stops short of using that term when describing his process, no matter how admittedly “obsessive” he gets. His so-called method acting reputation began with the filming of Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 film Elvis, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. The role was so intense that it resulted in Butler being rushed to the hospital due to his body shutting down the day after filming wrapped. He also hired a dialect coach because he couldn’t shake off the Elvis accent from spending three years preparing to portray the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
At the New York City premiere of Caught Stealing earlier this week, The Bikeriders star told The Hollywood Reporter what he thinks about his method reputation. “I never have used the word ‘method.’ I think that word gets thrown around a lot. It’s a very misunderstood thing that isn’t really what I do,” he said.
He went on to explain that even though he enjoys learning about acting and admires many actors who go method, “It’s more that I just like to immerse myself.”
In Darren Aronofsky‘s latest film, set in 1998 New York City, Butler plays Hank Thompson, a former star high school baseball player who turns to bartending in the Lower East Side after his baseball talents get cut short due to a car accident. However, his life turns upside down when he decides to look after his neighbor Russ’ (Matt Smith) cat (aka Tonic the cat) while he’s out of town.
The actor performed his own stunts, including running away from people following him with cars, being beaten up repeatedly and getting slammed into a wooden table. He also acknowledged that, even though his roles can become all-consuming, he’s finding his footing.
“Sometimes when I get really scared, I can become incredibly obsessive. And when I really love something, I can become incredibly obsessive, and that can mean that I don’t have a balance outside of that,” Butler said. “And so, less than using that word of [method] it’s more of just trying to figure out how to learn how to balance life and realizing that I want to get to be around the people that I love and live the best life I can.”
Additional members of the ensemble include Zoë Kravitz, who plays Butler’s love interest, Yvonne, and Regina King, who plays detective Roman, crime bosses played by Nikita Kukushkin and Bad Bunny, and violent hitmen played by Liev Schreiber and Vincent D’Onofrio.
Butler went to great efforts to bring his character to life, so much so that he told castmember Nikita to “kick me harder,” during a fight scene.
Despite these extreme lengths, D’Onofrio told THR he did not fear for his younger co-star.
“He definitely knows what he’s doing, that kid. He knows how to handle dramatic scenes. He can handle comedy, he can handle action. I didn’t worry about Austin for one second.”
Sony‘s Caught Stealing is now out in theaters.
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