GERARD BUTLER
Movie action man on new film Copshop and fans’ cries of ‘This is Sparta’ 15 years on
IHollywood action hero on how he loved being the bad guy for a change in Copshop and why he doesn’t mind fans’ shouting their favourite line.. even when he’s at the bathroom BY HEATHER GREENAWAY heather.greenaway@reachplc.com
t’s 15 years since Gerard Butler’s six pack burst onto the big screen in the swords and sandals epic 300. But while his torso remains largely under wraps these days, the movie’s immortal war cry is something that just won’t go away.
“I still get people shouting ‘This is Sparta!’ at me all the time,” said Gerard.
“I get it in the street, in restaurants. I’ve even had it in public toilets.”
Butler’s King Leonidas was the first in a line of action heroes he has played but for new film Copshop he says he enjoyed tapping into his ‘dark’ side.
The 300 actor, 51, plays a hitman and admits he had great fun playing the bad guy for a change.
Paisley-born Butler said: “I think we all have a dark side and, yeah, as an actor it’s fun to tap into that and you certainly get to do that when you play a bad guy.”
In the action thriller – which hits cinemas later this month – he plays hitman Bob Viddick, who is hunting wily con artist Teddy Murretto, played by Frank Grillo of Kingdom fame.
The pair end up locked up in the same small-town American police station, causing all hell to break loose as the crazy duo battle to survive.
Butler, who cut his acting teeth at the Scottish Youth Theatre, said it is one of the craziest movies he has ever done and admits he was drawn to the role by the hitman’s human side.
He said: “This film is a real trip. It’s bizarre, surreal and dangerous and then next to all the craziness are very normal, real moments, which I think adds to the rich tapestry of everything else that’s going on.
“I was initially drawn to the script by the theme of how you can find light even in the darkest of places and how even a ruthless killer can appreciate goodness, courage and hope.
“Even with the darkest and most villainous of people, in some ways, they are more pure in the fact they stick to their own code in a way perhaps some closer to the moral fibre of society don’t.
“I think this movie shows there is always a kernel of good in people that perhaps you would judge in another way, if only you look hard enough.”
Like the majority of his action roles, Butler had to get his body into shape ahead of filming. He said: “It’s a lot of physio to get as fit as I can and then I tend to work closely with the stunt guys.”
As well as keeping fit, he had the added stress of acting as both star and producer on Copshop. He said: “It’s challenging in how, as a producer, you
are always dealing with issues – budget issues, scheduling issues, issues with actors. Then you also have to focus on your role as an actor and the challenge to perform.
“The great thing is you get to working on every line, every moment and every idea of the script so, by the time you start shooting, you are so steeped in it and understand it so well.
“Which do I find more satisfying, acting or producing? It really depends if it works or if it fails. It’s twice the satisfaction or twice the misery.”
Butler admits he went to extreme lengths to secure his role in the movie that made him a household name.
The Glasgow Uni law graduate said: “For 300, when we weren’t sure the movie was going to go ahead, director Zack Snyder and the producers were determined I was their guy but they were nervous to take it to Alan Horn, who was president of Warner Brothers at the time, in case he didn’t want me and the movie fell apart.
“So I called Alan Horn out of the blue to tell him I wanted to play Leonidas which took a lot of courage. I’m not a networking kind of guy, I like to just get it by merit or talent but I knew if I didn’t push it, wasn’t going to happen.
“When he finished speaking, the typical me would have said, ‘Oh well, thank you’. Instead, I went, ‘But Alan’. Then he said, ‘I’ll tell you what Gerry, come in and meet me.’
“If I hadn’t said those words, who knows what would have happened? I went in with my whole speech about it being my destiny to play Leonidas and how everything I had done in my life had led to that point. I felt like an idiot saying it but it worked.”
Butler admits he retains a great fondness for 300. “I loved Zack Snyder,” he said. “I had never met a guy with such passion. More than that was his humanity as a director. He never lost his temper once and that was a very stressful movie.” Butler, who went on to star in action movies Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen, said he is much more relaxed in front of the camera these days. He said: “I think I relax
into things a lot more now and I’ve definitely been having more fun in my performances, which I think comes from time in front of a camera and learning from other actors. I never went to drama school, so I’ve learned how to perform through osmosis and working with great actors and directors.
“I have become more relaxed and that has changed how I perform.”
Butler, who starred in Phantom of the Opera, Dracula 2000 and P.S. I Love You added: “I love all kinds of roles. I want to keep changing it up.” ●Copshop will be in UK cinemas from September 10.
This film is a real trip. It’s bizarre, surreal and dangerous with real moments GERARD BUTLER ON WHAT DREW HIM TO COPSHOP