Gerard Butler as The Phantom
Born in Glasgow, Scotland to Margaret and Edward Butler,
Gerard was raised (along with his older brother and sister) in his mother's hometown of Paisley, Scotland. He also spent some
of his early youth in Canada. His parents divorced when he was a small child and he and his siblings were raised primarily
by their mother Margaret who later remarried. He 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 . 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.
His 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".
He 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. 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.
His 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. He 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 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. He will next be appearing in the adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical The Phantom of the Opera,
portaying the title character. Upcoming projects include The Game of Their Lives, Beowulf & Grendel and Burns.