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Gerard Butler is back in the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon as Stoick the Vast, reprising one of his most iconic roles in the live-action adaptation. Butler has also been around for decades now and has delivered many more iconic roles in this timeframe. This includes his famed portrayal of King Leonidas in Zack Snyder's 300.
But the way Gerard Butler got into acting was quite different from most of his co-stars. Butler did not go to acting school. Rather, turned to acting in the mid-1990s after studying law. But he learned to act through what he called "osmosis." Discussing having fun while working in a 2021 interview with Vulture, the actor said:
"Maybe as I’ve relaxed into things. The last decade, I tried to have fun with 300 and Law Abiding Citizen. But I’ve definitely been having more fun in my performances. One of the things about being able to get better is just having time in front of a camera and working around other actors and learning."
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He continued:
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"I never went to drama school, so I’ve learned how to perform through osmosis and working with great actors and directors. I have become more relaxed. I’ve also changed how I perform and how I study for roles, which has given me way more freedom."
He further elaborated on how his method changed over the years in this same interview.
"I used to tie myself down a lot more and go in with a more rigid idea of what I was going to do."- Gerard Butler on changing his methods
When someone comes into acting from a different background, it is not always the smoothest transition. As for Gerard Butler, he worked hard to have it right from the start, but there were things in his methodology that were still pulling him back. This changed as Butler let go of the rigidity and embraced a more relaxed, natural approach to his roles.
Discussing this with Vulture, the actor added:
"I used to tie myself down a lot more and go in with a more rigid idea of what I was going to do. I used to always go and watch my replays. I don’t think I’ve watched a single replay since I started working with Ric. It’s like, Whatever. I’m trusting. If you like it, that’s good. It’s more fun that way. I go into scenes having no idea [what I was going to do]. Especially in Greenland, we specifically didn’t rehearse so many of those scenes as the action starts, just to give it an edge, to allow more of your own humanity and all its million different colors and shades."
Gerard Butler's evolution as an actor is quite visible in the many roles spread over the years. From Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003) to Den of Thieves (2018) to Greenland (2020), Gerard Butler has been a part of many iconic films and franchises, which have also seen a rapid evolution of his performances over the years.
At 55, he continues to make big strides and has a full slate of upcoming projects, including Greenland: Migration, All-Star Weekend, In the Hand of Dante, Just Watch Me, and Den of Thieves 3.
