What happened to Austin Butler on the flight to shoot The Bikeriders? Actor recalls health scare that made him feel like he would die

Actor Austin Butler is recalling a health scare that he suffered on the flight to shoot The Bikeriders.

On August 19, Men’s Health published an exclusive interview that began with the anecdote. For filming the 2023 crime thriller, Butler had to take a flight journey during which he had a migraine. At the time, he recalled that he was unable to see anything.

He then went for the shoot and thought the episode could have been caused by a lack of sleep. Recalling what he went through, Austin Butler said:

“It felt like the life was being sucked from my body. I suddenly felt a euphoric sensation, and I actually genuinely thought I was dying.”

The actor shared that during the time he was touring for Dune: Part Two, he developed a foot ache that made him curl his toes. He then got a medical procedure done, and a small piece of glass was removed.

In the interview, Austin Butler explained that for a long time, he thought acting had to be a painful process that left him feeling broken afterward. However, later, he realized it was more about facing the parts of himself he didn’t like and learning how to use those sides in his work instead of pretending they didn’t exist. He also said:

“There’s something about filming: Everybody tells you what time to show up, they get you dressed, they show you where your mark is. It can be very infantilizing, and it can be very centered on me.”

Austin Butler says he was a Jackie Chan fan while discussing the stunts from Caught Stealing

During another interview with Men’s Health, posted on YouTube, Austin Butler said he almost hurt himself while shooting Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming movie, Caught Stealing. He jokingly said he was beaten up by two Russians, one of whom, Nikita, had more bodily strength. The actor recalled:

“So, he starts really laying into me and kicking me hard, but then he had this idea of headbutting me in the side and he did it so hard it almost cracked my rib with his head.”

Sharing his idea of performing stunts, Austin Butler said he was a huge fan of Jackie Chan. He also praised the stunt performers with whom he worked during his career. Meanwhile, speaking about Caught Stealing, he said:

“So, Caught Steeling is the movie with Darren Aronofsky, who I've been wanting to work with for many many years. He put me through the ringer on this film. It's a lot of running away from people chasing me with cars and getting beaten up repeatedly.”

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Austin Butler talked about a scene in Caught Stealing where his character was thrown onto a table by Bad Bunny and some Russian characters.

At first, they used a soft foam table, but it looked fake on camera. So, they switched to a real wooden table, and since he wasn’t wearing anything that could hide pads, he had to take the hits directly. He explained that with the camera angles, a stunt double couldn’t be used much, so he decided to do it himself and deal with the bruises afterward.

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