The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Arbroath lighthouse keeper helps Hollywood star ditch American drawl
Gerard Butler tostarinmovie about lighthouse keepers who disappeared
Hollywood star Gerard Butler has told how an Arbroath lighthouse keeper has helped him ditch his American drawl and get back to his roots.
Butler had spent 16 years putting on an American accent for US-based blockbuster hits before filming Keepers which tells the story of three men who vanished without a trace from Eilean Mor on the Herbridean Flannan Isles in 1900.
The A-lister sported a shaggy beard, a flat cap, cable-knit jumper and thick coat while filming his role as Arbroath lighthouse keeper James Ducat who was a 43-year-old with more than 20 years’ experience in lighthouse keeping.
Butler said it was great to go back to his roots and use his native Scottish accent in the film which will be released later this year.
He said: “It’s the first time I’ve really been able to do a full-on Scottish accent in 16 years.
“I’m kind of proud of myself because when I started acting the thought of doing an American accent, of doing any accent, was terrifying – so the fact I’ve done that many movies in an American accent and I can pull it off now (is amazing).”
Butler stars in Keepers alongside Peter Mullan and Connor Swindells as a trio of lighthouse keepers pitted against each other on Flannan Isles.
He said: “No matter how many times I do the American accent, I will be honest, I can never fully give it as much as when I’m just myself.
“It’s fun to get a chance to just speak like I spent 30 years of my life speaking before I ever had to do an American accent.”
Keepers was shot on location in Dumfries and Galloway, using three lighthouses across the region to depict the imposing, solitary building at the heart of the story.
Ducat had arrived on the deserted island to man the lighthouse with Thomas Marshall and Donald McArthur.
Just a few weeks into their stint, on December 15, a passing steamer on passage from Philadelphia to Leith noticed the light was not working, which it reported three days later when it docked in Oban.
A relief vessel, the Hesperus, carrying supplies and a relief lighthouse keeper Joseph Moore, had been due to arrive on Eilean Mor on December 20 but had been delayed until Boxing Day due to rough seas and dangerous weather.
Mr Moore rowed to shore and found the lighthouse in complete darkness.
Inside the beds were unmade and the clock had stopped.
A chair had been overturned and a pair of oilskins was still on its hook, indicating that one of the three men had gone outside without dressing for the wild winter weather.
There was no sign of Ducat or the other men.