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Austin Butler has detoxed from method acting thanks to Tom Hardy and Laura Dern

By Chris Morgan | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 11:08 AM ET

Austin Butler has quickly ascended into Hollywood’s top tier, thanks in large part to his reputation for throwing himself fully into every role. That intensity, though, hasn’t always come without consequences. Most famously, Butler revealed that his method-driven approach to embodying Elvis Presley in ‘Elvis’ left him hospitalized after his “body shut down” from the physical and emotional toll. And that was for portraying a rock icon in a Baz Luhrmann spectacle. One can only wonder what his process looked like when playing Tex in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’

Now, as Butler makes the rounds promoting his upcoming crime thriller ‘Caught Stealing,’ a film that looks every bit as grueling as his past projects, he’s suggested that he’s stepping back from going full method. The goal seems to be finding a balance: channeling the immersion that’s fueled his best performances while also developing healthier ways to cope with the strain. Call it evolution, or self-preservation, but Butler appears determined to keep his edge without sacrificing his well-being.

"For a long time, I felt that it had to be a tortured process and I would come out the other side broken," Butler explained. While working on his upcoming A24 movie ‘Enemies,’ though, the actor found more balance. His mindset shifted in part after watching Tom Hardy’s approach while filming ‘The Bikeriders.’ "After shooting all night, Hardy would go home, put on a weighted vest and do 1,000 box jumps," Butler said. While Butler isn’t exactly emulating that, he has learned to wind down and separate himself from the workday through exercise, cold showers, and spending time outside in the sun, weather permitting, of course.

Butler also praised Oscar winner Laura Dern. The two haven’t worked together, but they met at an event, and either Butler raised the subject or Dern thought to herself, "Somebody needs to tell this young actor not to freak out so much." "She’s helping me more and more to see that you can come out the other side, and maybe bits of you have healed, and synthesized, and metabolized. It can be therapeutic, in a way," Butler said. That may still sound a bit like method-adjacent actor speak, but it’s clearly healthier than what he put himself through on ‘Elvis.’

The actor appears poised for a long career, and it will likely be better, and more rewarding personally, if he keeps leaning on what he’s learned from Hardy and Dern.

(h/t The Hollywood Reporter)

Chris Morgan

Chris Morgan is a Detroit-based culture writer who has somehow managed to justify getting his BA in Film Studies. He has written about sports and entertainment across various internet platforms for years and is also the author of three books about '90s television.

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