The Golden Globewinning actor explained that his costar Nikita Kukushkin was like &34;a little ram or something.&34; Austin Butler was headbutted so hard during

The Golden Globe-winning actor explained that his costar Nikita Kukushkin was like "a little ram or something."

Austin Butler was headbutted so hard during movie fight scene that he 'almost cracked' a rib

The Golden Globe-winning actor explained that his costar Nikita Kukushkin was like "a little ram or something."

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at*  *with over five years of experience covering the latest in entertainment. A proud Kingston University alum, Emlyn has written about music, fandom, film, television, and awards for multiple outlets including MTV News, *Teen Vogue*, Bustle, BuzzFeed, *Paper Magazine*, Dazed, and NME. She joined EW in August 2022.

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Published on August 19, 2025 04:57PM EDT

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Hank (Austin Butler) cautiously answers his front door in Columbia Pictures' 'Caught Stealing'. Credit:

Niko Tavernise/Columbia

Austin Butler is remembering the time his costar hit him so hard that it nearly left lasting damage.

The 34-year-old actor revealed in a recent *Men's Health* video that he was truly put "through the wringer" while shooting Darren Aronofsky crime thriller *Caught Stealing*, especially during one fight sequence with his costar Nikita Kukushkin.

"I get beaten up by these two Russians in this film," Butler explained. "This one — Nikita, who's a short king — he's got so much power. When he was kicking me, he didn't want to kick me very hard. He felt bad. And I kept telling him, 'Just kick me. Just kick me harder.'"

Austin Butler attends the "Caught Stealing" UK Gala Screening at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on August 19, 2025 in London, England.

Neil Mockford/FilmMagic

However, when watching the takes back, Butler noticed it was clear Kukushkin was still pulling his punches.

"So he starts really laying into me and kicking me hard, but then he had this idea of headbutting me in the side, like a little ram or something," he said. "And he did it so hard it almost cracked my rib with his head! I was very impressed."

Based on writer Charlie Huston's novel of the same name, *Caught Stealing* sees Butler play Henry "Hank" Thompson, a former-baseball-player-turned-bartender who is unexpectedly thrown headfirst into New York City's criminal underworld after agreeing to watch his neighbor Russ' (Matt Smith) cat while he's out of town. Zoe Kravitz, Regina King, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Carol Kane also star.

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During his Men's Health interview, the Golden Globe-winning actor also detailed another painful sequence in which Hank, wearing next to nothing, gets thrown onto a table by Bad Bunny.

"They had made a soft table that was made of some sort of foam," Butler recalled. "Every time they would hit me on it, the whole thing would bow."

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The only problem? "Darren was like, 'It looks fake,'" he continued. "And so they said, 'Can we just bring in the wooden table?' So they bring in the wooden table and then they just start slamming me onto this wooden table wearing nothing."

Butler clarified that he did have an "amazing" stunt double that could've absolutely performed the scenes in his stead, but that he was game to take them on himself.

"For the most part, I'll just say, 'Yeah, let's go,'" he said. "I'll just deal with the bruises later."

Watch Butler discuss his bruises in the clip above.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Movies"

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