While covering the Caught Stealing premiere red carpet in New York City, I had the opportunity to ask Austin Butler, who stars as Hank Thompson, how he forces himself to embrace new challenges while staying true to who he is, both personally and professionally.

Hank Thompson (Butler) was a high-school baseball phenom who can’t play anymore, but everything else is going okay. He’s got a great girl, tends bar at a New York dive, and his favorite team is making an underdog run at the pennant. When his punk-rock neighbor Russ asks him to take care of his cat for a few days, Hank suddenly finds himself caught in the middle of a motley crew of threatening gangsters. They all want a piece of him; the problem is he has no idea why. As Hank attempts to evade their ever-tightening grip, he’s got to use all his hustle to stay alive long enough to find out…

“That’s a good question. I think I feel very grateful,” he explained to me. “I feel grateful to be alive, I feel grateful for the people in my life, and for what I get to do. And not every day is a good day, but I feel very, very thankful, and that, I think, makes me want to make the most of it.”

Caught Stealing, based on the book by Charlie Huston, is now playing in theaters.