Austin Butler Reveals How He Got Baseball Buff for 'Caught Stealing'

Actor Austin Butler has transformed his body once again, this time to play a former pro baseball player in Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film Caught Stealing. Known for his Oscar-nominated role as Elvis Presley, Butler opened up about his intense training process in a recent interview with Men’s Health.

According to Butler, Aronofsky encouraged him to model his physique after professional baseball players. “I actually have a whole section of just baseball players’ [backsides] that he would send me,” Butler joked. “He was like, ‘Look how thick they are!’”

To achieve a realistic look, Butler worked with celebrity trainer Beth Lewis, who trained Hugh Jackman for Deadpool & Wolverine. His workouts focused on developing strength and agility rather than building an overly muscular Hollywood body.

Before filming began, Butler weighed around 150 pounds. With training and nutrition adjustments, he bulked up to 185 pounds.

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However, Butler admitted his diet wasn’t always strict. “When I want a cheat day, I go all in; french toast, pancakes, pizza, and pasta, all at the same time,” he said.

The actor also described how the role required more than just physical preparation. His character, Hank, is a former athlete whose life spirals into a world of crime.

“For a long time, I felt it had to be a tortured process,” Butler explained of preparing for a role. “But rather than putting parts of yourself away, it’s about going into the bits you don’t want to look at—and finding a way of integrating that.”

This isn’t the first time Butler has reshaped his body for a role. While preparing to play Elvis Presley in Elvis, he admitted to dramatically altering his weight, sometimes eating “two dozen doughnuts” to embody Presley’s weight gain in his later years. He reflected that the process was fun at first but ultimately left him feeling unhealthy.

Austin Butler is currently filming Enemies alongside Jeremy Allen White. Caught Stealing hits theaters August 29.

Austin Butler Reveals How He Got Baseball Buff for ‘Caught Stealing’

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