For actor Gerard Butler, life would have been much different had he chose to remain a bored and unhappy barrister instead of becoming a celebrity. Of course, there was no guarantee of success once he embarked upon an acting career, but fortunately for him that’s how things turned out. Though not a household name, Butler has appeared in high-profile movies and television miniseries, and was once considered for the enviable role of James Bond. But despite such continued exposure, Butler has failed to take the next step and become a star. Born in Glasgow the youngest of three children, Butler moved to Montreal, Canada when just six months old. His father pursued several business ventures that ultimately failed, which tore apart his marriage to Butler’s mother. His mom, Margaret, moved the children back to Scotland where Butler and his siblings grew up in their mother’s home town of Paisley. Butler spent his youth at the nearby theater and soon developed an itch to act. Though it took some convincing, Butler managed to have his mother take him on auditions. Eventually, he joined the Scottish Youth Theatre, where one of his first stage roles was a street urchin in Oliver!. Though the seeds were sown early, Butler would veer down different avenues before becoming a professional actor.
To please those around him who felt that acting was not a viable career option, Butler enrolled in the law program at Glasgow University. Despite exceptional grades, a term as president of the school’s law society, and an honor’s degree, Butler was unhappy with his choice. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles for a short time, and appeared as an extra in “The Bodyguard” (1992), starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Butler then traveled to Canada to spend the last remaining moments with his dad, who was dying of cancer. After his father’s death, Butler returned to Scotland and began a traineeship at top law firm in Edinburgh. The taste of Hollywood, however, still lingered.
Butler continued the daily grind at the law firm for almost two years. He realized he made the wrong career move after seeing a stage performance of “Trainspotting” at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. His depression at work soon showed, and Butler was fired just days before he was to finish his training. The firing couldn’t have made Butler any happier, as he pursued acting while working a series of odd jobs, including an obligatory stint as a waiter. During this time, Butler amassed a resume of stage roles, including one in the lesser-known Shakespeare tragedy, “Coriolanus”, and as the lead in the same production of “Trainspotting” that rekindled his desire to act.
Once established as a stage actor, Butler transitioned to film, starting with a supporting role in the historical drama, “Mrs. Brown” (1997), starring Dame Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. A smaller role in a bigger movie followed with an appearance in the 18th installment in the James Bond series, “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997). Butler appeared in a few British films that barely saw the light of day in the United States, including “Fast Food” (1998), “One More Kiss” (1999), and “The Cherry Orchard” (1999), an adaptation of the Anton Chekhov play. Butler played the title character in Wes Craven’s “Dracula 2000” (2000), but despite the Wes Craven tag, the movie flopped with audiences and critics alike. Butler followed up with “Harrison’s Flowers” (2002), a sobering drama set in war-torn Yugoslavia, and though it received decent reviews, the film came and went without fanfare.
Butler continued to seek the limelight with bigger projects, including the action-fantasy flick, “Reign of Fire” (2002). The result, however, was much the same as “Dracula 2000”. Butler shifted gears and starred as the title character in the epic television miniseries, “Attila” (USA, 2001). Despite bungled historical accuracy, the thrilling battles scenes and cool horsemanship was enough to attract viewers. Ultimately, the legacy of the miniseries didn’t come close to matching that of its subject, as it fell into the dustbin of history.
The pre-release hype of both “Dracula 2000” and “Attila” spurned media rumors that Butler was being cultivated to become the next James Bond. However, disappointing box office numbers and a recommitment by Pierce Brosnan knocked Butler out of contention. He did, however, star alongside Angelina Jolie in “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life” (2003), and even had a ‘steamy’ make-out scene with the actress. For kicks, Butler attended a preview screening of the movie and came away pleased with audience reactions.
The actor appeared next in “Timeline” (2003), an adaptation of the Michael Crichton time travel novel. The movie kept audiences away from theaters, and critics failed to find any artistic merit. Meanwhile, Butler was later tapped to play the title role in Joel Schumacher’s version of “The Phantom of the Opera” (2004). For the big screen, Butler proved a merely adequate Phantom, a tad too handsome to inspire fear, and with an only passable singing voice that did not make anyone forget the powerful vocals of the famed stage Phantom Michael Crawford. He then starred alongside Emily Mortimer as a stranger who becomes the World’s Greatest Dad to a nine year-old deaf boy in “Dear Frankie” (2005), a manipulative drama courtesy of Miramax that tugged the heartstrings to the breaking point.
