Austin Butler Recalls Scary Motorcycle Crash on Set of His New Movie

Dune Part II star Austin Butler recalled a terrifying motorcycle crash he experienced on the set of his new movie, The Bikeriders. "All I was thinking about was the bike," Butler told People of the harrowing episode.

Jeff Nichols’ period thriller, which hits theaters on Friday, follows the new recruit (Butler) into a Midwestern motorcycle club presided over by the fearsome Johnny (Tom Hardy). As decades pass, the club morphs from a gathering place for like-minded outsiders into a ruthless gang with the small town in its grip. The film features a number of white-knuckle motorcycle racing scenes, one of which caused Butler to lose his balance and crash his bike.

“We were doing a night shoot and hit a patch of wet leaves and I went down,” Butler recalled, “but I thankfully landed on my feet.”

But surprisingly, Butler wasn’t concerned with his safety as he plummeted to the asphalt. "All I was thinking about was the bike, though," he said. "I just wanted to make sure that it was okay.”

More notable to the Elvis Oscar nominee was how his newfound motorcycle-riding skills meshed with those of his father, David.

“My dad rode motorcycles,” Butler explained. “It's been cool to get to talk about my dad a lot [on the press tour] recently because he gave me that first love of motorcycles," he said.

Butler said, rather than being concerned about his dangerous stunts in The Bikeriders, his dad “supported” him throughout the rigorous production. The actor “can’t wait” for his dad to see the movie, which has been a long time coming.

Nichols’ film premiered last August and was originally slated for release by 20th Century in December, but was taken off the release schedule due to the SAG/AFTRA strikes. 20th Century summarily dropped distribution rights to the film, which Focus Features then acquired. The prime summer release date will likely help The Bikeriders pop more than it would’ve in its original frame, but it remains to be seen if indie auteur Nichols can pull off a bonafide box office hit.

The Bikeriders hits cinemas on June 21. You can check out the trailer below.