Gerard Butler

Not to be confused with Gerald Butler.

Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler at the Berlin Film Festival 2011
Born	Gerard James Butler 13 November 1969 (1969-11-13) Paisley, Scotland
Occupation	Actor/singer
Years active	1997–present

Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in the American miniseries Attila (2001). He garnered critical acclaim for his work as the lead in Joel Schumacher's 2004 film adaptation of the musical The Phantom of the Opera. In 2007, Butler gained recognition through his portrayal of King Leonidas in the film 300. Since then, he has appeared in projects including P.S. I Love You (2007), Nim's Island (2008), RocknRolla (2008), The Ugly Truth (2009), Gamer (2009), Law Abiding Citizen (2009), The Bounty Hunter (2010), and as a voice actor in How to Train Your Dragon (2010).

Personal life

Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland, the youngest of three children of Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookmaker. Of Irish descent, he was brought up in a strict Roman Catholic family. Butler spent the first few years of his life in Montreal, Quebec, before the family returned to live in Scotland. A fan of the Glasgow football club Celtic F.C and played a charity match with them in 2011, Butler regularly attended Celtic Park as a supporter, but has found that moving to Hollywood can be a problem when trying to keep up with the results due to the time difference between Los Angeles and Glasgow.

Career

In London, Butler held a series of odd jobs until being cast by actor and director Steven Berkoff (who later appeared alongside him in Attila (2001)) in a stage production of Coriolanus. He was cast as Ewan McGregor's character Renton in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting, the same play that had inspired him to become an actor. His film debut was as Billy Connolly's character's younger brother in Mrs. Brown (1997).

His film career continued with small roles, first in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and then Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, Butler was cast in two breakthrough roles, the first being Attila the Hun in USA film Attila (2001/I) (TV). The film's producers wanted a known actor to play the part but kept coming back to Butler's screen tests and decided he was their man. He was cast as Dracula in Dracula 2000 (2000).

He then appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as Creedy and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) as Terry Sheridan, alongside Angelina Jolie. In the role of Andre Marek in the big-screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Timeline (2003), Butler played an archaeologist who was sent back in time with a team of students to rescue a colleague.

In 2003, director Joel Schumacher was deciding on the principal casting for the film The Phantom of the Opera, a film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical of the same name, and thought of Butler, whom he had seen earlier in the film Dracula 2000, to play the title character. Butler, who had had no musical experience other than singing in a rock band while he was studying to be a lawyer, was surprised at the interest, but immediately began taking singing lessons with a vocal coach. He then did an acting audition with Schumacher, and a singing audition with Lloyd Webber, both of whom were impressed by his performance. Despite the film receiving mixed reviews, Butler was praised for his performance.

Other projects that followed include Dear Frankie (2005), The Game of Their Lives (2005) and Beowulf & Grendel (2005).

In 2007, he starred as Spartan King Leonidas in the Warner Bros. production 300, which is often described as his breakthrough role. Butler, who said he "wanted to look really strong" in the film, trained with a high-intensity workout for four months prior to the film's shooting.

In 2007, he also appeared in Butterfly on a Wheel co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello, which aired on network TV under the title Shattered, and in the romantic comedy P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank. In 2008, he appeared in Nim's Island and RocknRolla. In 2009, he starred in the Mark Neveldine / Brian Taylor film Gamer, The Ugly Truth and Law Abiding Citizen, which he also co-produced. In 2010 he starred in the action/comedy The Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston, and did a voice-over in the 2010 animated film How to Train Your Dragon as Stoick the Vast.

On 15 and 16 October 2010, thanks to the popularity of his role as Spartan King Leonidas and the use of his lines during athletic events at Michigan State University, he was a guest at their Midnight Madness and homecoming football game, respectively.

On 18 December 2011, while filming Of Men and Mavericks, Butler was hospitalized after he was pulled under big waves. A safety patrolman spotted Butler and quickly rushed to his aid. He was taken to Stanford University Medical Center where he was observed and then later released.

Filmography

Butler at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Mrs. Brown	Archie Brown
1997	Tomorrow Never Dies	Leading Seaman	Scene
1998	Tale of the Mummy	Burke
1998	Fast Food	Jacko
1998	Little White Lies	Peter	Television film
1998	Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star, TheThe Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star	Marty Claymore	Television series
1999	Cherry Orchard, TheThe Cherry Orchard	Yasha
1999	One More Kiss	Sam	Television film
1999	Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married	Gus	Television series
2000	Dracula 2000	Count Dracula/Judas Iscariot
2001	Harrison's Flowers	Chris Kumac
2001	Unsuitable Job for a Woman, AnAn Unsuitable Job for a Woman	Tim Bolton	Television series
2001	Attila	Attila the Hun	Television miniseries
2001	Jewel of the Sahara	Captain Charles Belamy	Short film
2001	Please!	Peter	Short film
2001	Jury, TheThe Jury	Johnnie Donne	Television miniseries
2002	Shooters	Jackie Junior
2002	Reign of Fire	Creedy
2003	Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life	Terry Sheridan
2003	Timeline	André Marek
2004	Phantom of the Opera, TheThe Phantom of the Opera	Erik, Phantom
2005	Beowulf & Grendel	Beowulf
2005	Game of Their Lives, TheThe Game of Their Lives	Frank Borghi
2005	Shadow Company	James Ashcroft	Voice role
2005	Dear Frankie	The Stranger
2007	300	King Leonidas
2007	Butterfly on a Wheel	Neil Randall
2007	P.S. I Love You	Gerry Kennedy
2008	Nim's Island	Jack Rusoe / Alex Rover
2008	RocknRolla	One Two
2009	Tales of the Black Freighter	The Captain	Voice role
2009	Ugly Truth, TheThe Ugly Truth	Mike Chadway
2009	Gamer	Kable / John Tillman
2009	Law Abiding Citizen	Clyde Shelton
2010	How to Train Your Dragon	Stoick the Vast	Voice role
2010	Bounty Hunter, TheThe Bounty Hunter	Milo Boyd
2011	Coriolanus	Tullus Aufidius
2011	Machine Gun Preacher	Sam Childers
2012	Movie 43	Shaun	filming
2012	Of Men and Mavericks	Rick Hesson	filming
2012	Playing the Field	George	filming
2014	How to Train Your Dragon 2	Stoick the Vast	Voice role

External links

• Gerard Butler at the Internet Movie Database