Austin Butler recalls 'getting hit in the eyes with rocks' while filming “The Bikeriders”: 'It was visceral'
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Austin Butler is embracing danger with his upcoming role in The Bikeriders.
The actor has officially traded his Elvis jumpsuits for leather jackets and during a conversation with Josh Brolin for Interview Magazine, reflected on the joys (and dangers) of forming a motorcycle gang with his fellow castmates.
"There's such a trust," Butler said of the ensemble bike-riding scenes. "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.' And we're not wearing helmets, riding through cornfields as fast as we can."
"Doesn't seem like the most sensible thing," Brolin commented.
20th Century Studios Austin Butler in 'The Bikeriders'
"I don't know how they insured the film, to be honest," Butler said with a laugh. "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."
"Sounds like heaven to me," said Brolin, an avid motorcycle fan who often shows off his collection on Instagram. "I envy you deeply, and I did the minute I heard you were doing it."
With a stacked cast that includes Tom Hardy, Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon, Boyd Holbrook, and Norman Reedus, Butler stars in the latest from Jeff Nichols, a '60s set drama about the rise and fall of a Midwestern biker gang. As the title promises, The Bikeriders doesn't skimp on motorcycles — which meant a serious commitment to cruising through cornfields.
"To get to ride motorcycles through Cincinnati, through these cornfields, it was just amazing," Butler said. "You know what that feels like, where the wind is in your hair. You feel like you're mainlining god."
Butler also had distinct memories of working with Hardy, who was not quite the on set presence that he expected.
"Tom Hardy surprised me," Butler said. "I pictured him to be this grizzly bear, always serious. And really, he's one of the funniest people I've ever met. He'd be joking around until action is called, and then go into being the most intense guy I'd ever seen."
The duo lead the film as members of the fictional Chicago biker gang, the Vandals, who are unconditionally devoted to the club and determined to defend it against the arrival of a more sinister gang.
Delayed amid the ongoing actors' strike, The Bikeriders remains undated after moving off of its original Dec. 1 release date.
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