Butler talks 300

Butler talks 300

Filmstalker(UK)

November 16,2006

by Richard Brunton

Gerard Butler has put his braces behind him and has been talking about his role in Zack Snyder's 300 as King Leonidas. He talks about the usual stuff of an actor wanting the role so badly, but then he talks about how Snyder almost didn't use him in a scene until he saw him in action.


"The shot where I'm kind of marching through, I almost never did that...I had trained so hard for this particular piece, and it was 15 guys and it all worked fine in the gym...then suddenly you dress them all the same as Persians and you're like, 'Who the f**k is this? Ahhhh!' So at the last minute it looked like we were running out of time, and Zack came over to me and said, 'Look, maybe we should use a stuntman.' And I think he just didn't know how badass I was yet! And it broke my heart. So he said, 'Why don't you go ahead and warm up?' And I don't know what happened; I guess [he] probably saw me up there and said, 'You know, maybe we'll take a gamble with this.' And it went great."


Over at UK IGN they were lucky enough to see some footage of the film too, and they have nothing but praise for it, much like Butler has for Snyder. He talks about how great the director is and how well prepared and understanding of the work he is. All of which bodes really well for his work on Watchmen.

He goes on to talk about the physical training of the role, and for any of you who watched some of the online diaries, you'll know that there was a lot of training to be done for these guys.

"One of my main ambitions was not to be that actor standing up there with a bunch of stunt guys who are really f**king tough, but to be that guy, with the stunt guys going, 'S**t, look at him,'" he says. "And for me one of the first things is always the physicality. There was a strength and a power and a testosterone on that set in Montreal that I've never experienced before, and as the King is slightly mad … there are those moments where you go beyond being a Spartan where you realize how intense and passionate and, let's face it, how f**king nuts these guys were."
...and so begins the build-up to the release of the film, frankly after seeing the footage to date I really can't wait. It looks as strong and testosterone filled as the set sounded.

I think for Butler this could well turn out to be a huge turning point in his career which pushes him further towards star status than he's seen so far. Some of his roles since are certainly following that trend. My immediate concern would be that Priest may be a potential down point in this trend. What do you think? Will it continue?




http://www.filmstalker.co.uk/archives/2006/11/butler_talks_300.html