Austin Butler prepared for his Caught Stealing role by studying ‘baseball players’ asses’
Austin Butler stars as a former baseball player in Caught Stealing. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Austin Butler stars as a former baseball player in Caught Stealing. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Austin Butler is set to appear as ex-baseball player Hank Thompson in the upcoming crime comedy Caught Stealing, and the actor said he prepared for his role by “studying baseball players’ asses”.
The star plays a former athlete-turned-barman in the Darren Aronofsky-directed film, and spoke to Men’s Health about the work he put in behind the scenes to immerse himself in the role.
Set in 1990s New York, the logline for the film reads: “A gripping adaptation of Charlie Huston’s cult noir novel of the same name, Caught Stealing tells the story of Hank Thompson (Butler), a washed-up ex-baseball player whose quiet life takes a violent turn after a seemingly harmless favour thrusts him into the city’s brutal criminal underworld.
“What begins as a stroke of bad luck quickly spirals into a fight for survival, as Hank is forced to navigate a treacherous game of cat and mouse with a motley crew of threatening gangsters, where survival means crossing lines he never thought possible.”
Director Aronofsky, who is behind 2010’s Black Swan and 2022’s The Whale, sent the star images of baseball players for inspiration, Butler said.
“I actually have a whole section of just baseball players’ asses that he would send me,” Butler revealed. “He was like, ‘Look how thick they are!’ ”
He worked with trainer Beth Lewis, the exercise specialist behind Hugh Jackman’s Deadpool & Wolverine look. Austin revealed that he was tasked with building enough muscle to transform into a baseball player, but consumed enough pizza and beer to resemble one who had stopped taking care of himself.
“Drinking has never been my thing,” he told the outlet. “I don’t like the way it makes me feel.”
Nonetheless, he stuck to the training regime, which included “a ton of hip thrusters”, and walked away with the buttocks to prove it. “I’ve got a whole section of Celine pants that I just can’t even wear anymore,” he admitted.
Caught Stealing, which also features Zoë Kravitz, Bad Bunny, Matt Smith, Regina King and Liev Schreiber, hits cinemas on 29 August.
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