Ross Butler recently compared the physicality of playing a superhero in “Shazam!” to becoming a mixed martial artist (MMA) for his latest film, “Perfect Addiction.”
The film, which is based on the Wattpad novel of the same name by Claudia Tan, sees Butler in the shoes of an MMA fighter being trained to take on the reigning champion.
Tan, who was 17 when she published “Perfect Addiction” on the online social reading platform on Feb. 18, 2015, told
UPI that she consulted a
Muay Thai trainer for the fight-related sections in her story.
In an interview with Collider, Butler spoke about his attraction to the project and the rigorous physical training it required.
There was definitely a lot of physical training It was months and months of physical training, which was awesome. I probably got in the best shape of my life for this… I wanted to do something this physically demanding. I love Shazam!, but that’s more CGI and powers. This was more raw and practical.
“I’ve been in the teen world for a long time,” he was quoted as saying. “I’ve infamously been playing a teenager for 10 years and I was like, ‘I’ve gotta start growing my facial hair out more often.’”
Butler’s acting credits include “
Riverdale,” “
To All the Boys” and “13 Reasons Why,” among other popular television series and films. When a
sked what he intends to do next as an actor, he indicated a further shift into more mature roles that would also contribute to the Asian community. What you choose to do next in your career is a mix of, “What does my career need, and then what do I wanna do?” And then, being an Asian American actor it’s also like, “How can I contribute to the community? How can I further this for everybody else, to contribute to the mission of the whole?”… It’s about growing with my fan base and creating things that are widening the demographic, to say things in very business talk, but also just exploring new characters that I haven’t done before.
Butler took to Instagram on March 28 to share that the film already reached No. 1 on
Amazon Prime Video globally, long before its U.S. premiere on April 14.
“Perfect Addiction” also had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on March 27 and 29. 
