Austin Butler’s dedication to his roles is well-known, and his immersive process for the thriller “Caught Stealing” is no exception. To authentically portray Hank, a former baseball player turned barkeeper, Butler decided to spend the night on the set designed as Hank’s East Village apartment. This commitment highlights his method acting approach, creating an intimate connection to his character.
Immersive Preparation
Butler’s intense approach to his roles has seen him transform remarkably, like adopting Elvis Presley’s iconic drawl or training with a Navy SEAL for “Dune: Part Two.” For “Caught Stealing,” he took a different route, choosing to live momentarily in the set of his character’s apartment. “For one night, I had the whole apartment to myself,” he explains. “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.”
This immersive experience was crucial for Butler. “It made it feel like it wasn’t a set anymore,” he shares. “There are many things that conspire against you when you’re making a movie. The more I can do to trick myself, the more important it is.”
The Challenge of Authenticity
Unlike his previous roles, “Caught Stealing” required Butler to present more of his natural self. This task felt daunting. “It scared me,” he admits. “One of the reasons I got into acting in the first place was that I am very shy. But playing a character that feels more like myself left me with nowhere to hide and made me feel vulnerable.”
Portraying Hank also involved capturing the character’s physicality. “He needed to have the physicality of somebody who was an elite athlete, but who was no longer in peak physical shape,” Butler says. “I wanted to have a certain thickness. So I worked out, but I also drank a lot of beer.”
A Unique Hollywood Experience
The film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is based on a popular graphic novel and represents a genre reminiscent of a time before superhero dominance in cinemas. Butler’s character, Hank, becomes entangled in a dramatic plot involving a key desired by police, the Russian mob, and Hasidic hitmen. Aronofsky wanted to avoid Butler going full Method. “Austin goes really deep,” he notes. “I often asked him to work a little less hard and to relax a little bit because I wanted a certain looseness.”
Set in the 1990s, “Caught Stealing” captures a sense of nostalgia and simplicity from the era. “There was something really fun about the ’90s,” says Aronofsky. “The music was amazing, the Soviet Union had collapsed, and audiences will hopefully enjoy going back to all that.”
Butler’s portrayal of Hank, despite the character’s flaws, underlines his skill in merging method and authenticity in acting. This dedication not only enhances his performances but also continues to earn him recognition as a formidable talent in Hollywood.
