Butler brings the fight to ‘Thieves’
MOVIES
Gerard Butler practically combusts as a cop determined to take down a brilliant criminal gang in tomorrow’s “Den of Thieves.”
Butler’s character Nick is, to put it mildly, volatile and aggressive, and head of L.A.’s Major Crimes task force.
This ferocity and dedication costs him his wife and custody of his kids.
“I love this man very much,” the “300” veteran said. “Through all his ups and down, blemishes and hardships. He’s a modern day warrior.”
He’s also polarizing. “You don’t necessarily like the guy,” Butler, 48, said, “but at the end you absolutely have to respect him when you see the world he lives in, the challenges.
“When you live in a world of major crimes with very dangerous and brilliant criminals, there’s a certain (intense) level he has to function on, one that can have a negative impact on your life and personality.
“I think he’s brilliant at planning things out and outmaneuvering the enemy. There is an element of impulsiveness and consequences-be-damned as far as he’s concerned.
“It’s all about controlling, out-foxing, out-violencing. You have to be impressed with him, no matter how much damage he seems to be doing along the way.”
With the film’s intense physicality, how does Butler ensure that “Den” won’t leave him disabled?
“That’s a very good question, because when you’re making movies, you don’t know. In actual fact, every movie, I pick up one to five injuries. It goes with the territory.
“A lot of actors I know are not into training. For me it’s hard to make these movies if you’re not involved in the training and action.
“But I want to be careful. After these last couple of movies I want to be able to go about my business, go hiking, surfing and biking between movies.”
Butler was nearly killed last October, but it happened on a motorcycle on a Los Angeles street, not on a set.
“I had a car try to do a U-turn in front of me. I was going along and suddenly there was a car in front of me, sideways, directly in my lane. And I hit it.
“I went 30 feet through the air, did a somersault, landed badly on my feet and knees. Did some damage, a few fractures and torn ligaments.
“So it presented a challenging moment in my history.”