Butler returns as a man of action
NEW YORK — Gerard Butler knows all about portraying a man of action.
He did it memorably as Spartan King Leonidas in the worldwide hit 300.
He’s also capable of double duty. Since 300, he’s been both headliner and producer on Law Abiding Citizen, Machine Gun Preacher and Playing for Keeps.
The Scottish actor returns to the big screen by combining both of his specialties in the action thriller Olympus Has Fallen.
In the film, the 43-year-old actor plays former Secret Service agent Mike Banning. He’s demoted from his task of protecting U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) after a botched assignment.
But Banning inadvertently returns to duty when the president is held hostage in the White House’s underground bunker by a well-organized unit of North Korean extremists.
During an interview in a Manhattan hotel suite in New York, Butler said he understood from the start as the star and producer that the director was a key ingredient to making the complex thriller work.
And he didn’t hesitate to sign up Antoine Fuqua who directed Denzel Washington to a best actor Oscar in Train- ing Day and shaped the sleeper hit King Arthur.
“We ripped this script apart and rebuilt it to be the freshest, most modern, heartpounding and provocative action thriller we could,” said Butler of his collaboration with Fuqua.
They both agreed that Olympus Has Fallen shouldn’t just be about gunfire, explosions and hand-tohand combat.
“We wanted to give the movie some sophistication and some interesting characters who you could follow and get connected with on the journey,” Butler said.
They accomplished that goal by hiring some Oscarhonoured actors to play supporting roles, including Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Angela Bassett and Robert Forster.
Butler was quick to admit that Fuqua had a great deal to do with attracting the talented ensemble.
“Antoine’s a director who is artist,” said Butler. “He is masculine, but at the same time he is incredibly sensitive.
“He knew how to work with this incredible cast, who gave meaning and substance to roles that could otherwise be really cardboard.”
As an added attraction, Butler said his protagonist isn’t meant to be the onedimensional hero always doing the right thing.
“It’s a fascinating concept when you up the ante and say the whole world is relying on (Banning) to make the right decision, but nobody knows what the right decision is,” said the actor.
“Then we throw this guy in the middle of all that; a guy who is like a caged animal since his fall from grace.”
As usual, the actor suffered for his art as an action star. He had his hands cut up from the fight sequences. He injured his arm after another scrap and he had bullet casings hit him in the eyes and back on separate occasions.
Not once did he leave the set or go to the hospital, but he did decide to keep a record of the wounds.
“I actually started taking photos of my injuries,” Butler said.
Still, he thinks the movie battle scars were worth it. “We’ve got ourselves a pretty watchable action thriller.”