Austin Butler on Filming Dangerous Scenes in ‘The Bikeriders’: “I Don’t Know How They Insured the Film”

Austin Butler is reflecting on his time filming The Bikeriders, including the memorable and dangerous moments.

During a recent conversation with Josh Brolin for Interview Magazine, the Elvis star chatted about the upcoming Jeff Nichols-directed movie, which follows the rise of a Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members.

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“There’s such a trust as well, when we’d be in these groups of 40, riding bikes down a tiny road, and you’re thinking, ‘If anybody were to crash right now, all of us would go down,'” Butler said. “And we’re not wearing helmets, riding through cornfields as fast as we can.”

Brolin, who is personally a big fan of motorcycles, proceeded to quip, “Doesn’t seem like the most sensible thing.”

“I don’t know how they insured the film, to be honest,” The Carrie Diaries actor added. “And you’re riding behind a picture car as well, it’s kicking up pebbles in your face, so you’re getting hit in the eyes with rocks. It was so visceral.”

Compared to some of his other recent projects, such as Baz Luhrmann’s biopic Elvis and Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune: Part Two, Butler was able to experience something new in The Bikeriders.

“To get to ride motorcycles through Cincinnati, through these cornfields, it was just amazing,” he recalled. “You know what that feels like, where the wind is in your hair. You feel like you’re mainlining God.”

Butler said the film’s cast, which includes Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook and Damon Herriman, “was a great group. I wish you [Brolin] could have been out there on the road.”

The Bikeriders is currently undated after its theatrical release was delayed due to the ongoing actors strike.

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