| Biography |
 Born in Glasgow, Scotland to Margaret and Edward Butler, Gerard was raised (along with his older brother and sister) in his mother's hometown of Paisley, Scotland. He also spent some of his early youth in Canada. His parents divorced when he was a small child and he and his siblings were raised primarily by their mother who later remarried. He had no contact with his father Edward until years later when he was sixteen years old, after which time they became close. His father passed away when Gerard was in his early twenties From an early age Gerry was bitten by the acting bug. He appeared in a stage version of Oliver at the age of 12 and at 15, after seeing the movie Krull and imagining himself as the hero who wins the princess, announced to his mother that he wanted to be an actor. He participated in the summer program at the Scottish Youth Theatre in Glasgow in 1985 but then was encouraged to pursue a more “reliable” profession so he went on to attend University of Glasgow where he studied to be a Lawyer/Solicitor. He was even president of the school’s law society thanks to his outgoing personality and great social skills. During his years training as a lawyer he wasn’t happy and was partying and drinking heavily. Two weeks before completing his term to become a practicing attorney he was fired by his firm. The next day he packed his bags and moved to London to pursue his dream of acting, and he quit drinking. By chance shortly after arriving in London he was approached in a London coffee shop by actor Steven Berkoff (who later appeared alongside Butler in Attila), who gave him a stage role in the play Coriolanus. The summer before he headed to London Butler had seen the stage version of Trainspotting in Edinburgh and a year later he was cast as Renton (the role played by Ewan McGregor in the movie) on stage in Edinburgh. His former coworkers at the law firm came to see him and gave him encouragement that he had made the right move in choosing to act. His debut movie role was as Billy Connolly's younger brother in the movie Mrs. Brown (1997). While filming the movie in Scotland, he was enjoying a picnic with his mother, near the River Tay, when they heard the shouts of a young boy who had been swimming with a friend who was in some trouble. Butler jumped in and consequently saved the young boy from drowning. He received a "Certificate of Bravery" from the Royal Humane Society. He felt he only did what anyone in that situation would have done. His movie career continued with small roles in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy (1998) and a starring turn in the British film One More Kiss (1999) directed by Vadim Jean who is also expected to direct Gerard in Burns (tentatively 2009). In 2000, Butler was cast in his breakthrough roles, the first being Attila the Hun in the USA TV mini-series Attila. Producers of the mini-series wanted a known actor to play the part but kept coming back to Gerard Butler's screen tests and decided that he was their man. He had to lose the thick Scottish accent, but managed well. Around the time Attila was being filmed, casting was in progress for Wes Craven's new take on the Dracula legacy, also wanting a known name (so Butler wasn't much of a consideration). His unending tenacity and drive drove him to hounding the producers. Eventually, he sent them a clip of his portrayal of Attila. Evidently they liked it because Dracula 2000 (2000) was cast in the form of Gerard Butler. Producers of Attila , thinking that his big screen role might help with the Attila ratings, managed to finish up a little early so that he could get to work on Dracula 2000. Attila ended up being the 2nd highest rated mini-series ever. Following these 2 roles, Butler developed quite a fan base and Internet sites and lists started popping up everywhere. Since then Butler has appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as Creedy and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) as Terry Sheridan alongside Angelina Jolie, and Andre Marek in the big screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Timeline (2003). Butler played an archaeologist who was sent back in time with a team of students to rescue a colleague. In 2004 he appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera, portraying the title character in the successful adaptation of the stage musical that has brought him much international attention. Other projects include Dear Frankie (2004) (for which he won a Bowmore Spirit Award), The Game of Their Lives (aka Miracle Match – US DVD title) (2005), and Beowulf & Grendel (2005). In mid-2005 Gerard announced he had just been signed for something “HUGE”, which turned out to be the leading role of King Leonidas in director Zack Snyder’s (Dawn of the Dead) CGI-heavy screen adaptation of Frank Miller’s (Sin City) graphic novel, 300 for Warner Brothers. The film, which cost $65 million to make, has proven to be an even bigger success than anyone could have anticipated, opening with nearly $71 million domestic gross its first weekend (March 9-11, 2007), the highest ever for a March opening. In its first 2 weeks it had grossed nearly $170 million worldwide, without having yet opened in many foreign markets. The juggernaut was rolling. Following 300 Gerard filmed a thriller, Butterfly on a Wheel – renamed Shattered co-starring with Pierce Brosnan and Maria Bello, released on DVD 12/25/07, and a romantic comedy, P.S., I Love You with two-time Oscar-winner Hilary Swank which was released 12/21/07. Updated 2/7/08: Gerard has 3 more films completed and slated for upcoming release. On 4/4/08, Nim’s Island, based on the children’s book by Wendy Orr and co-starring double Oscar-winner Jodie Foster and Oscar-nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) will be released. Gerard plays two characters in the film – Nim’s father, Jack, and the fictional adventurer created by Jodie Foster’s character, Alex Rover. In October 2008 we will see the release of RocknRolla, a Guy Ritchie gangster-comedy in the vein of Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels in which Gerard plays One Two. Gerard just wrapped filming on Game (which will probably be renamed before its release) – a sci-fi thriller set in the not-too-distant future where mind-control technology is the game of the day. He plays Kable, the #1 ranked warrior in the #1 ranked game, “Slayers”. He must fight against the control of the players of the game and try to win back his own identity and bring down the whole system. Release is expected for late 2008 or early 2009. In April 2008 Gerard will begin filming The Ugly Truth co-starring Katherine Heigl (27 Dresses, Knocked Up) in which he will play Mike Alexander, a chauvinistic morning show host who puts his romantically-challenged producer through outrageous tasks to try to prove his relationship theories and help her find true love. Gerard is attached to the project The Untouchables: Capone Rising directed by Brian DePalma in the role of Jimmy Malone, the character that won Sean Connery an Oscar in the original The Untouchables. Since the role of Capone has yet to be cast this project is on the back burner. It is still Gerard’s dream to play the role of Scotland’s native son, Robert Burns, in a film about this fascinating man from Scotland’s past. We hope to hear that this will come to fruition soon. Gerard’s recent choices prove that he will not allow himself to be typecast or pigeon-holed in one type of role. We remain very excited to see all that his future brings. Compiled by Susan~Sporran Sources: imdb.com and several TV and print interviews with Gerard Butler |
