Austin Butler Says Director Sent Him Baseball Photos for Training Inspiration

Austin Butler is hip-thrusting into character.

The actor, 34, spoke to Men’s Health ahead of the debut of his new thriller, Caught Stealing, and opened up about the unorthodox regimen that was required to get his body for the role. In the movie, Butler plays a former baseball player-turned-bartender named Hank — thus his character’s story demanded a very particular physique.

Butler told the outlet the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, had a clear image in mind for Hank: it heavily revolved around having a baseball butt. The actor said Aronofsky, 56, wanted his build to be in line with the character’s backstory, and to be believable during action scenes.

“I actually have a whole section of just baseball players’ asses that he would send me,” Butler said. “He was like, ‘Look how thick they are!’ ”

A large part of the butt building routine included “a ton of hip thrusters,” he said, which gained him Aronofsky’s desired body. However, it did cost him “a whole section of Celine pants that I just can’t even wear anymore,” he told the outlet.

Beyond his behind, Butler also had to incorporate Hank’s bartender present alongside his athletic past. To achieve both at the same time, he trained with Beth Lewis — who helped Hugh Jackman achieve his Wolverine physique — while also consuming a regular diet of pizza and beer.

While he enjoyed the work he did with Lewis, it was the addition of consistent drinking he didn’t love. “Drinking has never been my thing,” he told Men’s Health, noting he didn’t like how it makes him feel.

When Butler first began working on the film, his body had since reverted from his Elvis build, a role for which he needed a bulkier frame. He started meeting with Aronofsky during awards season, which often results in increased anxiety and a subsequent tendency to forget to eat.

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But after six months of training for Caught Stealing, he had grown from 150 lbs. to 185, he said.

The film begins when Hank is enlisted by his neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) for cat-sitting duty, where he “suddenly finds himself caught in the middle of a motley crew of threatening gangsters,” per a synopsis. The movie also stars Zoë Kravitz, Bad Bunny and Regina King.

Caught Stealing will open in theaters on Aug. 29.