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You’ve admired the smoky green
eyes...you’ve melted at the sound of the thick burr in his voice.
Most likely you’ve watched 300 and were just a tad disappointed
that the Blue Bedroom Scene didn’t have a little extra lighting… Perhaps
now you’re wondering: is there more to this Scottish actor than his
rugged good looks and vocal charm? Read on…
Gerard James Butler was born on November 13th, 1969 in Glasgow Scotland
and raised in Paisley, Scotland. Despite his obvious Scottish
descent, his family has no official tartan (his great grandparents were of
Irish ancestry). Gerard’s earliest childhood upbringing
consisted of a single-parent, Catholic, middle-class environment.
Gerard’s mother, Margaret, raised her son and his two older siblings (Lynn
and Brian) on her own after divorcing Edward Butler (though she did later
remarry). Gerard had no contact with his father from the time he was
a toddler up until he turned sixteen. He and his father subsequently
made amends and became extremely close. Tragically, when Gerard was
22, his father died of cancer.
Gerard attended and graduated from the Glasgow University Law School, with
no plans for acting on his agenda. He was even named president of
his school’s law society. At this time in his life there was a
desperate internal dichotomy taking place in the young man. Though
he excelled at his profession, being a lawyer didn’t make him happy.
He was empty inside. As a result, he sought to fill the emptiness
with hard partying and heavy drinking. To this day he marvels that
he actually made it out of his twenties alive. Butler, quoted from
an article in Marie Claire, said "I was totally wild. I would
headbutt walls, punch walls. I was a Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
But I could also be Mr. Entertaining - people would say, 'You're
hilarious!'. But I definitely had a suicide wish. I once woke
up in Paris at 4am, five miles from where I'd been at a party. I had
gashes to my head, my face, my arms, and I had blood all over my clothes.
To this day, I don't know what happened."
At this critical time a pivotal moment occurred that would permanently
alter the course of Gerard’s life. One day, at a coffee shop in
London, Butler was approached by actor Steven Berkoff. Undoubtedly
Berkoff was allured by Butler’s magnetic personality and gave him a role
in the play Coriolanus. From then on Gerard was bitten - he
gave up law to pursue a career in acting. After Coriolanus,
he was cast in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting, receiving the
role of Renton (who was played by Ewan McGregor in the film).
Butler’s first feature film was the 1997 British production entitled
Her Majesty, Mrs. Brown. He and played alongside Billy Connolly,
cast as his younger brother. The role was small, but many Gerard
Butler fans are particularly enthusiastic regarding his performance -
perhaps because of a scene in which Billy and Gerard ran stark naked into
the ocean. During the filming of that scene, Gerard became
hypothermic due to the low temperatures.
Another interesting fact pertaining to the filming of Mrs. Brown:
One afternoon, while lunching with his mother, Gerard noticed a boy
flailing about in the River Tay. Without so much as a second thought
he jumped in and pulled the boy to safety. Gerard plays down this
heroic feat, saying that it was a less than stealthy mission. The
Royal Humane Society would beg to differ, awarding him a "Certificate of
Bravery" for his act.
After Mrs. Brown, Gerry was cast in several other small roles.
His first breakthrough as a lead character came when he received the part
of Attila the Hun in the mini-series Attila (2001). From
there he played Dracula in Wes Craven’s Dracula 2000. Attila
proved the be the second highest rated mini-series ever; after these two
roles Gerry’s fan base steadily began to grow. He played opposite of
Christian Bale in the sci-fi dragon thriller Reign of Fire (2002),
co-starred with Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of
Life, and starred alongside Billy Connolly, once again, in the film
adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Timeline (2003).
In a dramatic turn from his growing profile of action based movies, Gerry
was cast as the Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom of the Opera
in 2004. Drastically different from any other character in his
repertoire, Gerry had to undergo much training to prepare his voice for
the singing required of the Phantom’s character. Luckily, he had
prior singing experience while performing in a rock band called Speed as a
hobby in his college days; though it certainly was not on an operatic
level. During this long process, Gerard developed a connection to
his character; he was even brought to tears when discussing the Phantom’s
loneliness with director Joel Schumacher. This connection resonated
on screen; many a Butler fan will tell you that they were immediately
“hooked” by his Phantom.
Following Phantom of the Opera, Gerry garnered prominent roles in
the films Dear Frankie (2004); The Game of Their Lives
(2005); Beowulf and Grendel (2005); the TV movie Shattered
(2007); and P.S. I Love You (2007).
Perhaps his most notorious role is that of King Leonidas in the film
adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, 300 (2006).
Gerard underwent a grueling regime of training to develop the highly
sculpted muscles of the ancient Spartan king. His trainer never
allowed him or the other actors to perform the same exercise twice, so
that their bodies would constantly be subjected to new, muscle ripping
methods.
After 300, Gerry starred in the family film Nim’s Island
(2008), and can currently be seen on screen in Guy Ritchie’s Brit Gangsta
comedy Rocknrolla.
Gerry has a diverse array of upcoming projects on his plate, including the
action movie Game; a romantic comedy alongside Katherine Heigl
entitled The Ugly Truth; and he’ll be putting those velvet pipes to
work as a voice over in the animated family film How to Train Your
Dragon. |
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