Summary

Collider’s Steve Weintraub talks with stars Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz about their upcoming film Caught Stealing.

The stars praise the film for having a tone of “momentum.”

In this interview, Butler and Kravitz discuss the message of the film, the action sequences and stunts, Kravitz’s next directing projects, and Enemies with Jeremy Allen White.

Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz have well established that they’re willing to push their limits as performers in high-stakes projects full of action, and their latest film is no exception. In their starring roles in Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing adaptation, the pair prove themselves once again in a 1990s New York City-set crime thriller. In the movie, Butler stars as ex-baseball player Hank Thompson, who finds himself in the middle of a struggle for survival amidst the criminal underworld that runs the city. Kravitz, meanwhile, portrays Hank’s girlfriend Yvonne and praises the film for its forward momentum. Butler and Kravitz are joined in the cast by Regina King and Matt Smith. Ahead of Caught Stealing’s theatrical premiere on August 29, Collider’s Steve Weintraub interviewed Butler and Kravitz about their roles in the upcoming film. The duo discuss what the meaning of the film is and how it thrives on the element of surprise, while Butler reflects on performing his own wide-ranging stunts. Before closing out, the pair also share what fans can expect to see next from their careers.
Austin Butler Does His Own Stunts in ‘Caught Stealing’

“Mind your business, eat your cookie.”

COLLIDER: Are the messages of this film don’t help your neighbor and eat plenty of black and white cookies? ZOË KRAVITZ: It’s not not the message of the movie. Mind your business, eat your cookie. BUTLER: Yeah, exactly. That’s a good one. KRAVITZ: That’s the message of the film. [Laughs] I definitely took that away. Austin, I read that you did all your own stunts, and when people see the movie, you do some crazy shit in this, like running through that supermarket scene where you’re diving under stuff, the cars, hanging off a building. When you saw all the stunts you’d be doing, which one were you like, “Do I really want to do this?” BUTLER: Ooh, which one? I was really excited about a lot of them. I think hanging out of the building, I was like, “I’m game,” and then as soon as I was there, the reality of the fact that, like, if you were to fall, what heights actually do. It’s humbling. But they had me up there all day, so it was cool. KRAVITZ: Did you get used to it? Like when you get to the end of the day, were you comfortable? BUTLER: Yeah, but at the end of the day, I was just… KRAVITZ: Hanging out, cracking jokes. BUTLER: “You come here often?” You know, that sort of stuff.
‘Caught Stealing’ Manages to Pull Off Something Rare in Movies Today

“The tone of the movie is momentum.”

I think one of the main reasons I enjoyed the movie so much, besides your performances, is that, just like you guys, I see a lot of movies, and I can generally predict where things are gonna go. This script has so many left and right turns. BUTLER: Is that right? I didn’t see it coming. KRAVITZ: That’s nice to hear. BUTLER: I love that. Can you both talk about your reaction to the script? Because it is so unusual, and it mixes a lot of genres together. KRAVITZ: I think that’s kind of what the story is about. When I saw the cut of the movie that I saw, I said to Darren, “The tone of the movie is momentum.” That is the tone, because it goes to so many different places, but it just keeps going. The most difficult thing to do in storytelling nowadays is surprise people, and to really not know where things were gonna go from one moment to the other is pretty incredible. BUTLER: I love to hear that from you, because I read the script so many times. KRAVITZ: Yeah, it’s hard to unknow.

Custom image of Darren Aronofsky with Austin Butler for Caught Stealing interview
Image by Jefferson Chacon

BUTLER: And then filmed everything. So, for me, I’m always wondering from a fresh person’s perspective, if you were predicting anything. So, that feels really good. Thank you. It’s what you guys said. The whole movie is just propulsion. It just never slows down.
There Was No Jealousy Toward Their Co-Star’s Hairstyle

Matt Smith does rock the look, though.

Custom image of Matt Smith for Caught Stealing interview with Smith and Regina King
Image by Jefferson Chacon

I do have to ask you guys about Matt’s mohawk. So if you see him rocking that thing, are you immediately jealous, or are you like, “Thank God I’m not wearing this on this movie”? BUTLER: Nah, he rocked it. I was really impressed. I thought it looked really cool. KRAVITZ: Yeah, it’s weird seeing him with hair now. I think he looked great. BUTLER: Totally. KRAVITZ: It was hardcore. BUTLER: It’s not an easy thing to pull off. KRAVITZ: No, it’s not. BUTLER: He pulled it off very well. KRAVITZ: But jealous, no. I was never like, “I wish I had…” BUTLER: You were never like, “Ah, I wish that was me!” [Laughs]
What’s Next in Their Careers?

Butler fans should expect the actor to take a bit of a break.

Zoe Kravtiz and Austin Butler in Caught Stealing
Image via Columbia Pictures

Individual question for both of you. Zoë, you’re planning on directing again soon. I’m curious about that, and what can you tease about what you’re filming with David Leitch right now? And Austin, do you know what you’re filming in 2025? What’s coming up for you? KRAVITZ: I just wrapped, two days ago, How to Rob a Bank with David Leitch. We had such a good time. I think the movie’s gonna be great. I mean, definitely a film you’re gonna wanna see in a theater. Amazing cast. We have [Nicholas] Hoult and John C. Riley. We had a really good time. I’m just coming off the heels of that. And I’m writing a few things right now to direct, so hopefully that will happen again in the next year or something. BUTLER: That’s awesome. I like that answer. KRAVITZ: Thank you! Thanks so much. BUTLER: You were saying 2025, so this year? Like what’s coming up for you? What are you thinking? What are you doing? KRAVITZ: What’s your deal, man? BUTLER: What is my deal? I’m just living some life right now. I’m gonna promote this movie, and then I’m gonna take a little bit of time and catch my breath. I just finished a movie with Jeremy Allen White that we shot in Chicago. KRAVITZ: Is it called Enemies? BUTLER: It’s called Enemies. It’s very much like a Melville sort of inspired, early Michael Mann sort of energy. It’s this cat and mouse between he and I that we had a lot of fun shooting together. Caught Stealing premieres in theaters August 29.

Caught Stealing

Release Date

August 29, 2025

Director

Darren Aronofsky

Writers

charlie huston

Producers

Ari Handel, Jeremy Dawson

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