Gerard Butler was at one time the lead singer for a Scottish rock band named Speed, although music eventually became his second love after acting.
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television. A trained lawyer, Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), which he followed with steady work on television, most notably in the American miniseries Attila (2001).
Gerard Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland, the youngest of three children of Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookmaker. Of Irish descent, he was brought up in a strict Roman Catholic family. Butler spent the first few years of his life in Montreal, Quebec, before the family returned to live in Scotland.Gerard Butler regularly attended Celtic Park as a supporter but has found that moving to Hollywood can be a problem when trying to keep up with the results.
In London, Butler held a series of odd jobs until being cast by actor and director Steven Berkoff (who later appeared alongside him in Attila (2001)) in a stage production of Coriolanus. He was cast as Ewan McGregor’s character Renton in the stage adaptation of Trainspotting, the same play that had inspired him to become an actor. His film debut was as Billy Connolly’s character’s younger brother in Mrs. Brown (1997).
In 2007, he starred as Spartan King Leonidas in the Warner Bros. production 300, which is often described as his breakthrough role. Gerard Butler, who said he “wanted to look really strong” in the film, trained with a high-intensity workout for four months prior to the film’s shooting.
Gerard Butler Filmography
2018 How to Train Your Dragon 3
2017 Geostorm
2016 London Has Fallen
2016 Gods of Egypt
2016 The Headhunter’s Calling
2014 How to Train Your Dragon 2 (voice)
2013 Olympus Has Fallen
2012 Chasing Mavericks
2012 Movie 43
2012 Playing the Field
2011 Machine Gun Preacher
2011 Coriolanus
2010 Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (voice)
2010 How to Train Your Dragon
2010 The Bounty Hunter
2009 Law Abiding Citizen
2009 Gamer
2009 The Ugly Truth
2008 RocknRolla
2008 Nim’s Island
2007 P.S. I Love You
2007 The Butterfly
2006 300
2005 Beowulf & Grendel
2005 Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal’s Caligula (short)
2005 The Game of Their Lives
2004 The Phantom of the Opera
2004 Dear Frankie
2003 Timeline
2003 Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life
2002 Reign of Fire
2002 Shooters
2000 Dracula 2000
2000 Harrison’s Flowers
1999 The Cherry Orchard
1999 One More Kiss
1999 Fast Food
1998 Little White Lies
1998 Tale of the Mummy
1997 Tomorrow Never Dies
1997 Mrs Brown
