Gerard Butler

Gerard James Butler was born 13 November 1969 in Glasgow, Scotland. His parents - Margaret and Edward Butler Gerard Butler was raised (along with his older brother and sister) in his mother's hometown of Paisley, Scotland Gerard Butler also spent some of his early youth in Canada Gerard Butler's parents divorced when he was a small child and he and his siblings were raised primarily by their mother Margaret who later remarried Gerard Butler had no contact with his father Edward till years later when he was sixteen years old, after which time they became close. His father passed away when Gerard was in his early twenties Gerard Butler went on to attend Glasgow University where he studied to be a Lawyer/Solicitor. He was even president of the schools law society thanks to his outgoing personality and great social skills.

Gerard Butler's acting career began when he was approached in a London coffee shop by actor Steven Berkoff (who later appeared alongside Butler in Attila), who gave him a stage role in the play "Coriolanus" Gerard Butler decided to give up law school for acting. He was later cast as Ewan McGregor's character Renton in the stage adaptation of the movie Trainspotting (1996). His debut movie role was as Billy Connolly's younger brother in the movie Mrs. Brown (1997). While filming the movie in Scotland, 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 some trouble Gerard Butler jumped in and consequently saved the young boy from drowning. He received a "Certificate of Bravery" from the Royal Humane Society. He felt he only did what anyone in the situation would have done Gerard Butler's movie career continued with small roles in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy (1998). In 2000, Butler was cast in his breakthrough roles, the first being Attila the Hun in the USA movie Attila (2001/I) (TV). Producers of the mini-series wanted a known actor to play the part but kept coming back to Gerard Butler's screen tests and decided that he was their man Gerard Butler had to lose the thick Scottish accent, but managed well. Around the time Attila was being filmed, casting was in progress for Wes Craven's new take on the Dracula legacy, also wanting a known name (so Butler wasn't much of a consideration). His unending tenacity and drive drove him to hounding the producers. Eventually, he sent them a clip of his portrayal of Attila.

Evidently they liked it because Dracula 2000 (2000) was cast in the form of Gerard Butler Producers of Attila (2001/I) (TV), thinking that his big screen role might help with the Attila ratings, managed to finish up a little early so that he could get to work on Dracula 2000 (2000). Attila (2001/I) (TV) ended up being the 2nd highest rated mini-series ever. Following these 2 roles, Butler developed quite a fan base and Internet sites and lists started popping up everywhere. Since then Gerard Butler has appeared in Reign of Fire (2002) as Creedy and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) as Terry Sheridan alongside Angelina Jolie Recently the role that has garnered him much attention from both moviegoers and movie makers was that of Andre Marek in the big screen adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Timeline (2003). Butler played an archaeologist who was sent back in time with a team of students to rescue a colleague Gerard Butler appeared in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera (2004), portraying the title character in the adaptation of the stage musical. Other projects of Gerard Butler include The Game of Their Lives (2005), Beowulf & Grendel (2005), Butterfly on a Wheel (2006), Therese Ranquin (2006) and Priest (2006/2007).

Filmography

Butterfly on a Wheel (2007) (completed) .... Neil Warner
300 (2006) .... King Leonidas
Beowulf & Grendel (2005) .... Beowulf
Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's Caligula (2005) .... Prefect Cassius Chaerea
The Game of Their Lives (2005) .... Frank Borghi
The Phantom of the Opera (2004) .... The Phantom
Dear Frankie (2004) .... The Stranger
Timeline (2003) .... Andre Marek
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) .... Terry Sheridan
Reign of Fire (2002) .... Creedy
Shooters (2002) .... Jackie Junior
Attila (2001/I) (TV) .... Attila the Hun
Jewel of the Sahara (2001) (V) .... Captain Charles Belamy
Dracula 2000 (2000) .... Dracula
Harrison's Flowers (2000) .... Chris Kumac, photojournalist
The Cherry Orchard (1999) (as Gerald Butler) .... Yasha
One More Kiss (1999) .... Sam
Please! (1999) (as Gerry Butler) .... Peter
Tale of the Mummy (1998) .... Burke
Fast Food (1998/I) .... Jacko
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) .... Leading Seaman - HMS Devonshire
Mrs. Brown (1997) .... Archie Brown