GERARD BUTLER in Wrath of Gods

Excerpt from the 1 hour interview with Gerard Butler on location, a part of 2 hours of bonus material on the Wrath of Gods DVD.

Gerard Butler attended law school at Glasgow University receiving top grades and serving as President of the laws school’s Law Society. After graduating he worked as a trainee solicitor at on of the country’s top law firms; he was very unhappy and it showed in his work so the firm fired him with just one week to go in his training. Butler was more interested in filmmaking, acting and music.

Gerard Butler moved to London and while sitting in a coffee shop he was approached by Steven Berkoff who offered him a role in the play “Coriolanus” and his acting career began. Soon after. in 1996, he landed the lead role of Renton in the stage production of “Trainspotting.” Butler’s big screen debut followed in 1997 in “Mrs. Brown”. and “Tomorrow Never Dies”. In 1998 – 2003 he took roles in “The Cherry Orchard”, “A Young Person’s Guide to Becoming a Rock Star”, “One More Kiss”, and “Harrison’s Flowers”. This lead to an on stage appearance in “Snatch” and roles in “Attila the Hun”, “Dracula 2000”, “The Jury”, “Reign of Fire”, “Laura Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life”, and Timeline.

In 2004 Joel Schumacher cast Gerard Butler in the tile role of “Phantom of the Opera” and prior to this he filmed an independent film, “Dear Frankie” that wasn’t realeased until after the “Phantom of the Opera” premiered. In 2005 he co-starred in “The Game of Their Lives” and he was also cast in Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel with the lead role of Beowulf, filmed entirely in Iceland. While filming Beowulf and Grendel Gerard Butler became a part of the documentary Wrath of Gods directed by Jon Gustafsson, about the enormous obstacles and set backs that the cast and crew went through while filming Beowulf and Grendel. He also became a co-producer of the award winning documentary.

The filming of Zack Snyder’s 300 began in late 2005 where Gerard Butler played King Leonidas (in which he was later awarded “Action Star of the Year” at the Taurus World Stunt Awards in May of 2007). His career continued in 2006 as he filmed “Butterfly on a Wheel”, and “P.S. I Love You” which was released in December of 2007. His most recent release was “Nim’s Island” April 2008. Yet to be released are “RocknRolla”, “Game”, and “The Ugly Truth.”