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Actor Biography - Gerard Butler |
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Gerard Butler, born in Glasgow, Scotland, was the youngest of three children and son to Margaret and Edward Butler. The first two years of his life were spent in Montreal where his father worked as an accountant. His family then moved back to Glasgow. From an early age, Butler was interested in acting, making his stage debut at age twelve in the Glasgow’s Kings Theatre production Oliver.
Butler pursued the idea of becoming a professional actor as early as age twelve. That year, he spent the summer at the Scottish Youth Theatre residential course in Livingstone. His school career officers talked Butler out of continuing his theatrical studies, even though he was considered an outstanding student. Instead of acting he trained in law for seven years. He then realized his true dream and moved to London to revive his passion for acting.
Butler’s first break came while in a London coffee shop. By chance, he ran into veteran British actor and director Steven Berkoff. Butler pleaded with Berkoff for an audition and, as a result, got a part in his upcoming play Coriolanus at the Mermaid Theatre. At Butler’s next audition in 1996, he landed the lead role of Renton in the stage production of Trainspotting. Directed by Harry Gibson, Trainspotting took Butler to Scotland to headline at the Edinburgh Festival.
Gerard Butler’s feature debut was as Billy Connolly’s brother, Archie Brown, in the film Mrs. Brown. Mrs. Brown, starring Judy Dench, is based on the story of John Brown and Queen Victoria. The film was highly acclaimed by critics and nominated for an Oscar in 1998.
Butler then went on to play a childish psychotic criminal named Jacko in Stuart Suggs’ black comedy, Fast Food. His next project was the two-part BBC psychological drama, Little White Lies. Little White Lies, directed by Phylip Saville, starred Tara Fitzgerald as well as Butler.
In 1998, Butler portrayed Yasha in the feature version of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, directed by Michael Cacoyannis and co-starring Charlotte Rampling and Alan Bates. After The Cherry Orchard, Butler turned back to comedy in the Channel 4 series A Young Person’s Guide to Becoming a Rock Star. The series comically portrayed rock star Marty Claymore of super group Bonk Bonk Bonk.
Towards the end of 1998 Butler starred alongside Valerie Edmonds and James Cosmo in Vadim Jean’s film One More Kiss. This film went on to win the Audience’s Award at the Toronto Film Festival.
Butler then returned to the theatre in Snatch, directed by Polly Teale, as part of the Soho Theatre Company. He remained in the West End to portray the role of Doctor Sugar in the Donmar Warehouse production of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer, directed by Sean Mathias in 1999. For the role of Doctor Sugar, Butler had to take on a Louisiana accent, starring opposite Rachel Weisz.
Butler then bounced back to television to portray the alcoholic womanizing Gus in ITV’s Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, directed by Sarah Hellings and Brian Grant.
Going in a different direction, he co-starred alongside Andie MacDowell and Adrien Brody as a war photographer caught up in the Bosnian War in Eli Chouraqui’s film Harrison’s Flowers. He also played a psycho ganglord in Shooters, directed by Colin Teague.
Towards the end of 2000, Butler starred as a contemporary Dracula alongside Jonny Lee Miller, Christopher Plummer, Jennifer Esposito and Justine Waddell in Wes Craven’s Dracula 2000 and was then cast in the title role of Attila in the miniseries Attila the Hun, directed by Dick Lowry.
In December 2001, Butler won the Spirit of Scotland Award for Screen. The next year Butler divided his time between shooting the film Reign of Fire on location in Ireland with Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey and filming ITV’s The Jury in London.
Butler starred in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life opposite Angelina Jolie and Timeline opposite Paul Walker and Frances O’Connor. He has also portrayed the role of The Phantom in the recent film Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera.
Butler can also be seen in Shona Auerbach’s Dear Frankie, appearing opposite Emily Mortimer. The film focuses on a woman who rescues her son from an abusive relationship and then attempts to rebuilds her life.
Butler recently filmed the period soccer drama The Game of Their Lives in which he plays Frank Borghi, head of the U.S. Soccer Team, which in 1950, in Brazil, defeated the highly favored English team in the World Cup. The Game of Their Lives, directed by David Anspaugh, co-stars Wes Bentley and is due for release in 2005.
