Austin Butler went temporarily blind, thought he was dying during filming

22 Aug 2025 By foxnews

Austin Butler suffered a string of terrifying health scares that left him hospitalized and scared for his life.

The 34-year-old actor revealed that he was temporarily blind and convinced he was dying after he finished filming director Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic.

The "Elvis" star said it all began with what he described as a virus in a cover interview for Men's Health.

AUSTIN BUTLER SPENT 3 YEARS AWAY FROM FAMILY DURING 'ELVIS' PREP AND FILMING: 'THIS IS WHAT IT TAKES'

Butler shared that he woke up in severe pain that he said felt like it might be related to appendicitis. He was hospitalized shortly after filming and spent a week in bed recovering.

But that was just the beginning of his sudden health scares.

While flying to the movie set for "The Bikeriders," a drama about a Midwestern biker gang, Butler explained that he was jolted awake by a migraine so intense, he suddenly went blind.

He said he lost his vision for several minutes, explaining, "It felt like the life was being sucked from my body. I suddenly felt a euphoric sensation and I actually genuinely thought I was dying."

Despite the alarming symptoms, Butler didn't head to the hospital. He made his way to the set and worked the full day, blaming his severe health problems on sleep deprivation.

Butler continued to share his medical nightmares - at another point, he suddenly felt pain in his foot.

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During his press tour for "Dune: Part Two" across Asia, Butler started walking with his toes curled under to avoid a sharp, stabbing pain. It lasted eight months.

He described that a doctor in New York finally found a shard of glass in his foot, the size of a grain of rice.

While Butler's previous medical issues appear to be behind him, he shared that easing up on the pressure to constantly perfect his craft has been key to dialing back the health scares.

With the help of his Hollywood mentor, Laura Dern, Butler learned that he doesn't have to push himself to the brink to deliver an outstanding performance.

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Since his health scares, Butler has made sure he's able to get a full night's sleep or catch up with a friend while still doing work in Hollywood. Near-blindness after a shoot isn't the price of success, Butler discovered.

"You don't have to destroy the light," he remarked.

Butler recounted his medical nightmares after he previously shared with Fox News Digital in 2024 how he underwent intense training ahead of filming "Masters of the Air."

"We were really fortunate to have this two-week boot camp right when we started," Butler recalled at the time.

During the boot camp, the actors took World War II history lessons, trained with pilots, learned basic military skills, underwent physical training and became proficient in accurately depicting how to operate the B-17 bombers that were flown by their characters.