Gerard Butler

Gerard James Butler (born November 13, 1969) is a Scottish actor and singer.

Early life

Born in Glasgow, Scotland to Margaret and Edward Butler, who are of Irish descent. Gerard is the youngest of three children. He spent the first few years of his life in Montreal, Canada before returning to Paisley, Scotland after his parents' separation. He grew up with his mother, who remarried a few years later. He had no contact with his father until age 16. Butler studied law at Glasgow University, where he received top grades and served as President of the school's Law Society and worked as a trainee solicitor after graduation.^[1]

Career

His first acting roles were in the stage plays Coriolanus and in Trainspotting,^[2] after which he landed his first film role in Mrs. Brown (1997). While filming the movie in Scotland with Dame Judi Dench and Billy Connolly, 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 trouble. Butler jumped into the river and consequently saved the young boy from drowning. He received a "Certificate of Bravery" from the Royal Humane Society.

That same year he appeared in Tomorrow Never Dies, with his first major role being the title character in Dracula 2000 (2000). The movie Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) in which Butler starred opposite Angelina Jolie was one that put him on the map, but his breakthrough came when he played the title role of Attila in the United States television serial Attila (2001). He also appeared in the United Kingdom television serial The Jury.

He began taking formal singing lessons before he was even cast for the title role in Joel Schumacher's film rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, training for hours a day from January 2003 to June 2004. He became very close to his co-star Emmy Rossum, whom he sees as a little sister.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005 he was featured in the release of Beowulf & Grendel in Canada, followed by the U.S. and other countries.

Butler plays the Spartan King Leonidas in 300, an adaptation of the Frank Miller graphic novel (also called 300) based on the heroism of 300 elite Spartan warriors at the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in Greece. Filming took place from October 2005 - January 2006 in Montreal. "300" was released in theaters and in IMAX, in the US on March 9 2007. Despite mixed reviews, the movie made box-office history for the month of March.

He has confirmed he is in talks to film a remake of Escape from New York where he will star in the Kurt Russell role of Snake.

Partial filmography

• PS, I Love You (2007)
• Butterfly on a Wheel (2007)
• 300 (2007)
• Beowulf & Grendel (2005)
• The Game of Their Lives aka "The Miracle Match" (2005)
• The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
• Dear Frankie (2004)
• Timeline (2003)
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)
• Reign of Fire (2002)
• Shooters (2002)
• Attila (2001)
• Dracula 2000 (2000)

References

Wikipedia information about Gerard Butler This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gerard Butler". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.