Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor known for his portrayal of King Leonidas in 300, The Phantom in the The Phantom of the Opera, One Two in RocknRolla and Clyde Shelton in Law Abiding Citizen.
Early life
Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland, the son of Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookie.[1][2] Butler was raised in a Roman Catholic working-class family[3] and for the first two years of his life, lived in Montreal, Quebec.[4] When his parents divorced, he returned to Scotland with his mother and siblings. Butler had no further contact with his father until he was 15 years old. Butler attended the Scottish Youth Theatre and The University Of Glasgow, where he studied law. He was president of the school's law society and cafeteria club.
Career
His acting career began when he found that he hated his life and wanted to do something else. He saw auditions for the film Trainspotting which inspired him to become an actor. He left everything he had and went down to London where he was approached in a coffee shop by actor Steven Berkoff, who later appeared alongside Butler in Attila (2001/I) (TV), who gave him a role in a stage production of Coriolanus. After that Butler decided to give up law for acting. He was cast as Ewan McGregor's character Renton in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting. His film debut was as Billy Connolly's younger brother in Mrs. Brown (1997). While filming the movie in Scotland, he was enjoying a picnic with his mother, near the River Tay, when they heard the shouts of a young boy who had been swimming with a friend who was in some trouble. Butler jumped in and saved the young boy from drowning. He received a Certificate of Bravery from the Royal Humane Society. He felt he only did what anyone in the situation would have done.
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 the 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 had to lose the thick Scottish accent, but managed well. Around the time Attila was being filmed, casting was in progress for Wes Craven's new take on the Dracula legacy. Also wanting a known name, Butler wasn't much of a consideration. His unending tenacity and drive drove him to hounding the producers. Eventually, he sent them a clip of his portrayal of Attila. Evidently they saw something because Dracula 2000 (2000) was cast in the form of Butler. Attila's producers, thinking that his big-screen role might help with their own film's ratings, finished shooting a little early so he could get to work on Dracula 2000 (2000). Attila ended up being the second highest-rated TV movie ever. Following these two roles, Butler developed quite a fan base, an Internet site and began appearing on lists everywhere.
Since then he has appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as Creedy and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) as Terry Sheridan, alongside Angelina Jolie. The role that garnered him most attention from both moviegoers and movie makers alike was that 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. He went on to appear in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera (2004), playing the title character in the successful adaptation of the stage musical. It was a role that brought him much international attention. Other projects that followed include Dear Frankie (2004), The Game of Their Lives (2005) and Beowulf & Grendel (2005).
In 2007 he starred as Spartan King Leonidas in the Warner Bros. production 300 (2007), based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, and Butterfly on a Wheel (2007) co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello, which aired on network TV under the title Shattered. In 2007 he starred in P.S. I Love You with Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank .
In 2008, he appeared in Nim's Island (2008) and RocknRolla (2008). More recently he has also starred in the Mark Neveldine / Brian Taylor film Gamer (2009), The Ugly Truth and Law Abiding Citizen.
Gerard Butler has appeared on various comedy sketches, including SNLPopular comedy skits starring Gerard Butler include a comedy skit entitled 'What up with that'[5].
Gerard Butler has recently confirmed that 'Burns the movie'[6] will definitely happen. It will be a biopic on the life of 'Robert Burns'[6]
Personal life
Butler currently splits his time between Los Angeles, New York City and his hometown of Glasgow. Butler's patron charity is Kids Kicking Cancer.[7] He is currently donating his time, set visits, movie premiere tickets and autographed personal items and photographs in an effort to support the charity.[8]. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, hiking and running.
Early life
Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland, the son of Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookie.[1][2] Butler was raised in a Roman Catholic working-class family[3] and for the first two years of his life, lived in Montreal, Quebec.[4] When his parents divorced, he returned to Scotland with his mother and siblings. Butler had no further contact with his father until he was 15 years old. Butler attended the Scottish Youth Theatre and The University Of Glasgow, where he studied law. He was president of the school's law society and cafeteria club.
Career
His acting career began when he found that he hated his life and wanted to do something else. He saw auditions for the film Trainspotting which inspired him to become an actor. He left everything he had and went down to London where he was approached in a coffee shop by actor Steven Berkoff, who later appeared alongside Butler in Attila (2001/I) (TV), who gave him a role in a stage production of Coriolanus. After that Butler decided to give up law for acting. He was cast as Ewan McGregor's character Renton in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting. His film debut was as Billy Connolly's younger brother in Mrs. Brown (1997). While filming the movie in Scotland, he was enjoying a picnic with his mother, near the River Tay, when they heard the shouts of a young boy who had been swimming with a friend who was in some trouble. Butler jumped in and saved the young boy from drowning. He received a Certificate of Bravery from the Royal Humane Society. He felt he only did what anyone in the situation would have done.
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 the 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 had to lose the thick Scottish accent, but managed well. Around the time Attila was being filmed, casting was in progress for Wes Craven's new take on the Dracula legacy. Also wanting a known name, Butler wasn't much of a consideration. His unending tenacity and drive drove him to hounding the producers. Eventually, he sent them a clip of his portrayal of Attila. Evidently they saw something because Dracula 2000 (2000) was cast in the form of Butler. Attila's producers, thinking that his big-screen role might help with their own film's ratings, finished shooting a little early so he could get to work on Dracula 2000 (2000). Attila ended up being the second highest-rated TV movie ever. Following these two roles, Butler developed quite a fan base, an Internet site and began appearing on lists everywhere.
Since then he has appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as Creedy and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) as Terry Sheridan, alongside Angelina Jolie. The role that garnered him most attention from both moviegoers and movie makers alike was that 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. He went on to appear in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera (2004), playing the title character in the successful adaptation of the stage musical. It was a role that brought him much international attention. Other projects that followed include Dear Frankie (2004), The Game of Their Lives (2005) and Beowulf & Grendel (2005).
In 2007 he starred as Spartan King Leonidas in the Warner Bros. production 300 (2007), based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, and Butterfly on a Wheel (2007) co-starring Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello, which aired on network TV under the title Shattered. In 2007 he starred in P.S. I Love You with Academy Award-winner Hilary Swank .
In 2008, he appeared in Nim's Island (2008) and RocknRolla (2008). More recently he has also starred in the Mark Neveldine / Brian Taylor film Gamer (2009), The Ugly Truth and Law Abiding Citizen.
Gerard Butler has appeared on various comedy sketches, including SNLPopular comedy skits starring Gerard Butler include a comedy skit entitled 'What up with that'[5].
Gerard Butler has recently confirmed that 'Burns the movie'[6] will definitely happen. It will be a biopic on the life of 'Robert Burns'[6]
Personal life
Butler currently splits his time between Los Angeles, New York City and his hometown of Glasgow. Butler's patron charity is Kids Kicking Cancer.[7] He is currently donating his time, set visits, movie premiere tickets and autographed personal items and photographs in an effort to support the charity.[8]. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, hiking and running.