300 (2007)
Interview with Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler
[Gerard Butler has a soft spot for characters you wouldn't want to meet at night. After The Phantom of the Opera in the movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical he now plays the Spartan King Leonidas in 300. But seeing the Scottish actor in person you immediately notice that "soft spot" might not be the right word. He's as much of beast as the violent military leader he plays in the adaption of Frank Miller's graphic novel - minus the beard perhaps. With his deep distinguished voice and an easy to spot Scottish accent he took time in Berlin to chat with OutNow.CH about his role and the trunks he had to wear in front of the green screen.
» Das Interview in deutscher Sprache
OutNow.CH (ON): What's the secret of becoming such a strong screen persona like King Leonidas?
A true king
Gerard Butler (GB): I became a Spartan for six months. I've never had to train that much. Just knowing that I was going to be naked through most of the film was an essential motivator. But the training also had a mental effect on my performance. It gave me a feeling of superstrengths and confidence. I became strong rather than just acting strong.
ON: What did you think when you first had to put on that costume of yours?
GB: The first time I looked into the mirror I had a mixture of feelings. It looked so cool but on the same time very ridiculous. But since I was wearing it on set more often than my normal cloths it became like a part of me. Gripping the shield made me feel very masculine, potentially violent.
ON: Is your body we get to see on the screen in any way enhanced?
All real
GB: No it's mine. It would have been a little expensive to do that during a whole film. Even to play with somebody's face in a few scenes costs like 50 000 bucks. Warner Brothers liked me for that role but they didn't like me that much that they would have spent 5 million to give me a body.
ON: Have you read Frank Miller's graphic novel before you got the part?
GB: No. I was never a big comic book guy but I absolutely appreciate the story telling that comes straight from somebody's insane mind and is then put onto the paper. In a graphic novel you don't have the same constraints in budget when creating environments. And luckily there were some geniuses at work on this film which managed not only to create that environment but an even more interesting one.
ON: Did you have any idea of the visual concept of the film?
GB: There were a lot of specific drawings of the world we were going to be in. We kept them on the set and I spent a lot of time in the art department and just sit and star at them.
ON: Did Frank Miller ever comment on how you played his creation King Leonidas?
GB: I actually met Frank only half way through the movie when he did a set visit. He was very exited but I was a little nervous. What would "the King" Frank Miller think of his King? There's always a chance that he would go like "I can't believe you're playing that role. It breaks my heart." You just don't know because you hear all these horror stories of original authors. But he was on a high during the visit. Frank knew he could trust Zack Snyder to cast the right King.
ON: There are a lot of guts and glory sentences in the script. Did they strike you also as a little silly when you had to scream them?
Phantom & Partner
GB: That was part of the challenge as an actor because almost every line in the film can seem profound for someone but if you literally just chance the intonation of one syllable the whole thing becomes ridiculous. That happened by accident sometimes and we laughed a lot on the set. But there is a lot of fun in the film. American audiences noted that. Leonidas is a funny guy and there is a lot of humour in his arrogance and strength. How would all these soldiers have survived the battles if they were serious all the time? That's when people also start laughing the theatre. At the end of the day 300 is telling a story and it wants you to be touched by that story but it also doesn't take itself to seriously. It wants you to be fuckin' pumped and be entertained.
