Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born November 13, 1969) is a Scottish actor perhaps best known for his portrayal of King Leonidas in 300, The Phantom in the 2004 film version of The Phantom of the Opera, and Gerry Kennedy in P.S. I Love You.
Early life
Butler was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Margaret and Edward Butler. His great-grandparents were from Italy. Butler was raised in a Catholic working-class family. For the first two years of his life, he lived in Montreal, Quebec. When his parents divorced, his mother took him and his siblings, Lynn and Brian, back to Scotland, to her hometown of Paisley. He had no further contact with his father until he was sixteen years old. Butler’s father died of cancer when Gerard was 22.
Career
Butler graduated from Glasgow University Law School before embarking on his early career in stage plays. His first roles were in Coriolanus and in the stage version of Trainspotting. Butler landed his first film role as Archie Brown in 1997’s Mrs. Brown alongside Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. That same year, he appeared in a minor role in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. He followed this with several appearances in various independent films and several television series in the UK, including a role in the series Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and the films The Cherry Orchard, One More Kiss, and Harrison’s Flowers.
In 1999, he began filming his first lead role as Attila the Hun in the American TV miniseries Attila. During filming of Attila, the production actually stopped in order for him to film his second lead role as Dracula in Wes Craven’s Dracula 2000. Both films were released in 2000. In this early part of his career his most notable work was in The Jury, a critically acclaimed UK TV miniseries. In Timeline which was released in 2003, Butler once again starred alongside Billy Connolly. Based on the Michael Crichton book of the same name, Butler played archaeologist Andre Marek. Also in 2003, he starred as Terry Sheridan opposite Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. The following year he was cast in the title role of Joel Schumacher’s film rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, co-starring Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, and Ciaran Hinds. Prior to filming The Phantom of the Opera, Butler had completed the independent film Dear Frankie, which co-starred Emily Mortimer.
In 2005, he starred in The Game of Their Lives, a film based on a true story of the 1950 U.S. soccer team who beat England 1 - 0 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The same year he was cast in as Beowulf in the Sturla Gunnarsson film production of Beowulf & Grendel. Filmed entirely in Iceland, Beowulf & Grendel was widely released in Canada to moderate success. During filming, Butler also participated in and co-produced the documentary Wrath of Gods. Directed by Jon Gustafsson, the film documents the dramatic circumstances the cast and crew faced while making the film Beowulf & Grendel. Later this same year Butler began production of 300, in which he starred as King Leonidas of Sparta. The film, directed by Zack Snyder and co-starring Lena Headey, was released in March 2007. The film was an adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name based on events surrounding the Battle of Thermopylae in Greece circa 480 BC. 300 was released in the US on March 9, 2007. It currently holds the record for the highest opening weekend box office gross in the month of March at over $72 million during that first weekend. As of May 2007, 300 had a box office gross of $438 million after nine weeks. Butler received various awards for this role including "Action Star of the Year" at the Taurus World Stunt Awards and "Biggest Ass Kicker" at the 2007 Spike TV Guys’ Choice Awards.
In 2006, Butler completed filming Butterfly on a Wheel (renamed Shattered in the U.S.) and began work on PS, I Love You with Hilary Swank, based on Cecilia Ahern’s novel and released in December 2007. On July 7, 2007 Butler appeared at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London. In November 2007, an Entertainment Weekly readers’ poll named Gerard as #5 Ultimate Male Hottie of All Time. Later in November, Entertainment Weekly named Gerard as one of the Top 25 Entertainers of 2007.
Nim’s Island, which also stars Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin, opened in cinemas on April 4, 2008. Butler was cast in the role of Nim’s father, Jack, and as Nim’s imaginary hero, Alex Rover. The dual role allowed Gerard to use his natural Scottish burr when playing Alex, while he adopted an American accent as Jack
.
Future roles
In 2005, Butler announced that he would play Robert Burns in the film Burns. Several tentative production dates have been set for the film, but they have been postponed due to scheduling and financing conflicts. Butler was also slated to play the role of Laurent in the new film adaptation of Emile Zola’s novel Thérèse Raquin, but he is no longer attached to the project due to a scheduling conflict with his upcoming role in the film Game.
In 2006, Butler announced that he was in negotiations for the role of Ivan Issacs in the upcoming film Priest, based on the graphic novel.
* The Untouchables: Capone Rising, the prequel to the film The Untouchables, was due to begin filming in October 2007 with Brian De Palma directing. Butler is cast as Jimmy Malone.
* GAME, a futuristic thriller, co-produced by Paramount and Relativity Media, began filming in November 2007 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Butler has been cast as Kable, the No. 1-ranked warrior in the highest-rated game, which is called "Slayers".
* RocknRolla, a gangster film directed by Guy Ritchie. Butler is cast as One-Two, a street-smart gangster involved in a lucrative real-estate scheme.
* Variety has reported that Butler has signed on to star opposite Katherine Heigl in the battle of the sexes comedy The Ugly Truth for Lakeshore Entertainment. Shooting is scheduled to begin in April, 2008.
* Butler has confirmed rumours that he will be starring in an extra feature on the DVD for Zach Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen, "Tales of the Black Freighter".
* Butler will star in the first project of his Evil Twins production company, Law Abiding Citizen, slated for a 2009 release. The film begins shooting August 18 in Detroit, Michigan.
Filmography
| Year | Movie |
| 1997 | “Mrs. Brown”, “Tomorrow Never Dies” |
| 1998 | “Tale of the Mummy”, “Fast Food”, “Little White Lies”, “The Young Person’s Guide to Becoming a Rock Star “ |
| 1999 | “The Cherry Orchard”, “Please!”, “One More Kiss”, “Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married” |
| 2000 | “Dracula 2000″, “Harrison’s Flowers” |
| 2001 | “An Unsuitable Job for a Woman”, “Attila”, “Jewel of the Sahara”, “The Jury” |
| 2002 | “Shooters”, “Reign of Fire” |
| 2003 | “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life”, “Timeline” |
| 2004 | “The Phantom of the Opera” |
| 2005 | “Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal’s Caligula”, “Dear Frankie”, “Beowulf & Grendel”, “The Game of Their Lives” |
| 2007 | “300″, “Butterfly On A Wheel”, “PS, I Love You” |
| 2008 | “Nim’s Island”, “RocknRolla”, “Game” |
| 2009 | “The Ugly Truth”, “How to Train Your Dragon” |
Butler and Campbell a couple?
He thrust spears at Persian soldiers. She pitched a cell phone at her maid.
Gerard Butler, who plays Spartan King Leonidas in the blockbuster 300, has conquered the heart of supermodel Naomi Campbell.
Sources claim the Scottish-born actor and the 36-year-old English-born model have been spending a lot of time together in New York City, where Campbell recently completed five days of community service as punishment for throwing a cell phone at a former employee.
After finishing her sweeping and mopping duties inside a Department of Sanitation garage, Campbell jetted off to Miami to enjoy some of the tennis action at the Sony Ericsson Open.
But since returning to New York, she has been spotted out and about with Butler several times - even though the couple has managed to avoid being photographed together.
"She came out of the hotel first and got into a waiting SUV," an eyewitness told canada.com. "Then a few minutes later, Gerard came out and got into the vehicle. And when they arrived back, they got out of either side of the vehicle and went into the hotel separately."
Butler, whose films include Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Phantom of the Opera, spent several years as a child living in Montreal. He returned to the city to make 300 and recently completed Butterfly on a Wheel, which was partially filmed in Vancouver.
Campbell has dated famous men like Robert DeNiro and Flavio Briatore and was briefly engaged to U2 bassist Adam Clayton
tags: gerard butler, gerard butler news, gerard butler actor, wallpaper of gerard butler, live interview with gerard butler, gerard butler bio, music of the night gerard butler, gerard butler naked, is gerard butler gay, gerard butler photos, gerard butler ilove you till the end, gerard butler adverts, gerard butler love you till the end, gerard butler wallpapers, 300 gerard butler