Austin Butler Says He Danced Alone With Paul Mescal After A Late-Night Bar Lock-In
While promoting Caught Stealing, Austin Butler told Irish radio station Today FM that he and Paul Mescal once ended up at a bar after hours where the staff “played show tunes” and, as Butler put it, “Paul and I danced.” The moment came up during a light-hearted segment asking which Irish star he would bring to an imaginary pub. Butler’s answer landed with a grin, and Zoë Kravitz loved the visual.
He moves past the tortured method and builds strength with a steadier routine. Austin Butler opens up in Men’s Health, and we ask what a healthier grind looks like today. https://t.co/vFvPKEiMDr
— DNA (@DNAmagazine) August 21, 2025
Who was in the room and why it came up?
Butler was on the Today FM set with Caught Stealing co-star Zoë Kravitz during the film’s press tour. The host pressed them on Irish favourites, and Butler revealed the Mescal story as proof he already knows how to keep a lock-in lively. Kravitz’s reaction of pure delight did the rest.
Entire Austin Butler fandom: *We’re in our Hank Thompson era* pic.twitter.com/h3ks7kS9wT
— ✩Ziggy✩ (@afterdarkziggy) August 24, 2025
Caught Stealing is a crime caper set in late-’90s New York. Butler plays Hank Thompson, a former baseball player drawn into criminal trouble after a favour goes wrong, with Kravitz in a key role. The film begins global theatrical release in the last week of August, with wide release around Friday, 29 August.
paul mescal in all of us strangers (2023) pic.twitter.com/Vledo4cUPW
— vitor (@connellwaIdron) August 17, 2025
Butler and Mescal are two of the most-watched actors of their generation, each with acclaimed turns: Elvis for Butler and Gladiator 2 for Mescal, who has also played gay in the films All Of Us Strangers (2023), and The History Of Sound (2025). He has also been noted for a queer character in Aftersun (2022), though this is not a confirmed gay role. So a candid story about the pair dancing to show tunes hits the sweet spot of fame and fun. It is also a reminder that off-camera chemistry can be as charming as anything on screen. While Mescal has delighted us in his gay turns, we have yet to see Butler in a gay role. We look forward to it.
Austin Butler reveals he danced at a bar with Paul Mescal that played show tunes.
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) August 21, 2025
“We once went to a bar and they shut down the bar, and then they played show tunes, and Paul and I danced. I had a great time.” pic.twitter.com/F1N3IugAaO
Clips of the Today FM exchange travelled fast across social feeds, keeping Butler’s quote in circulation as the film’s marketing pushed toward opening weekend. The timing helps: press-tour stories like this give audiences something human to latch onto between trailer drops and photo calls.
What we want next…
A stage-musicals night featuring Butler and Mescal is cheeky wish-fulfilment, but there is a real throughline here: both actors have shown ease with emotionally open roles, and both draw crowds. If a director is hunting for a two-hander that needs wit, heat and a little music, there is your pitch.
