Austin Butler Reveals He 'Tore My Rotator Cuff' While Filming Pitbull Scene in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'

Austin Butler isn't afraid to embrace his adventurous side when it comes to stunts — but sometimes, that bravery comes at a cost.

The 34-year-old actor opened up about a serious injury he sustained while filming the climactic fight scene in 2019's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, where his character, Tex Watson, faces off against Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth and his formidable pitbull, Brandy.

"In rehearsals, he got me in such a way that he tore my rotator cuff," Butler revealed while speaking to Men's Health during the "Stunt School" series, recounting how the dog's unintentional aggression caused the injury.

Butler was rehearsing a pivotal moment when he entered the house, gun drawn. "Because of the camera angle they wanted, I had to hold the gun with my left hand," he remembered. "Then the dog was supposed to jump off the chair and grab my left arm."

During rehearsals, Butler had a safety measure in place. He wore a sweatshirt but noted, "They wrapped my hand in leather so this 80-pound pitbull can grab onto my arm and rip at me."

Despite the precautions, the dog's strength forced Butler to make a last-minute adjustment for the filming. "He was very strong. And so then we did it on the right arm on the day," he explained. "I realized I need to hold on tight, otherwise he's going to rip my arm off."

Thankfully, Butler's stunt double, Braxton McAllister, stepped in to handle the more dangerous part of the scene, where the dog bites Tex in the groin.

Reflecting on the scene's evolution, Butler shared that director Quentin Tarantino originally envisioned a longer fight sequence. The intense moment leads Tex and members of the Manson Family into Cliff and Rick Dalton's (Leonardo DiCaprio) home, instead of their intended target, the late actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).

"When we got there, [Tarantino] said, 'You know what? It doesn't make sense for you to be a good fighter,'" Butler recalled. "Brad's character is a special forces guy, so if he can't take you out quickly, then it doesn't feel right."

Although the scene was cut shorter than intended, it did not lack intensity. The backdrop of the fight references the horrifying real-life events of 1969 when Charles Manson's followers infamously murdered Tate and six others in Los Angeles. Manson passed away in 2017 while serving multiple life sentences for his involvement in these murders.

"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was a dream come true in so many ways," Butler reflected. "I got to do a lot of different fun things in this movie."

In addition to performing stunts, Butler enjoyed the thrill of horseback riding, especially during the exciting introduction of his character as Tex. "The day that Quentin cast me, he said, 'You know I got this idea where you take off on this horse,'" Butler recalled. However, he noted that viewers might not realize he was "riding on concrete for about half of the take."

The stunt team cautioned, "Horses don't have a lot of traction on concrete," urging him to take it easy.

But as Tarantino approached before they shouted "action," Butler brought his A-game.

"I kicked up that horse and we went as fast as we possibly could," he said with a laugh, crediting his grandfather for teaching him to ride. "Seeing a smile on his face made me happy."