Austin Butler on Motorcycle Crash Filming The Bikeriders: 'All I Was Thinking About Was the Bike' (Exclusive)

Butler spoke to PEOPLE at 'The Bikeriders' premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, June 17

Austin Butler attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features' "The Bikeriders" at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 17, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Austin Butler at the Los Angeles premiere of 'The Bikeriders' . Photo:

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Austin Butler didn't have an entirely smooth ride filming The Bikeriders!

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the movie's Los Angeles premiere on Monday, June 17, the actor, 32, revealed that he had an accident while riding a motorcycle on set.

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

"All I was thinking about was the bike, though," he adds. "I just wanted to make sure that it was okay.”

Despite the accident, Butler, who plays the role of Benny in The Bikeriders, tells PEOPLE that making the movie brought him closer to his dad through their shared love of motorcycles.

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Austin Butler attends the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features 'The Bikeriders' at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 17, 2024 in Hollywood, California.
Austin Butler at the Los Angeles premiere of Focus Features 'The Bikeriders' at TCL Chinese Theatre on June 17, 2024 in Hollywood.

Emma McIntyre/WireImage

“My dad rode motorcycles, so I think... It's been cool to get to talk about my dad a lot recently because he gave me that first love of motorcycles," says Butler about making the movie, which follows a local Midwestern motorcycle club as it develops into a full-blown gang.

Butlers adds that he “can't wait” for his father David Butler to see the movie and that his dad was not concerned about the bike racing in the film.

“He supported it,” the star tells PEOPLE.

Austin Butler sydney 06 06 24
Austin Butler poses during a press conference for "The Bikeriders" on June 06, 2024.

Brendon Thorne/Getty

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Butler walked the red carpet alone at Monday’s premiere, but was seen with his girlfriend Kaia Gerber, 22, at the afterparty.

The couple appeared in great spirits as they sat together, with Gerber placing one hand on the actor's leg.

Entertainment Weekly shared a video of Butler approaching Gerber for a kiss as she stood among the crowd at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

Back in May, a source told PEOPLE the pair were "going strong" after they first sparked romance rumors in December 2021.

"They held hands the entire way to dinner and stopped and hugged a few times before going into a club [on May 24]," the insider said. "They definitely looked happy and in love.”

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