Butler graduated from the
School of Law at
Glasgow University before embarking on his early career in stage plays. His first roles were in
Coriolanus and in the stage version of
Trainspotting.
[6] Butler landed his first film role as Archie Brown in 1997's
Mrs. Brown alongside
Judi Dench and
Billy Connolly. That same year, he appeared in a minor role in the
James Bond film
Tomorrow Never Dies. He followed this with several appearances in various
independent films and several television series in the UK, including a role in the series Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and the films
The Cherry Orchard,
One More Kiss, and
Harrison's Flowers.
In 1999, he began filming his first lead role as
Attila the Hun in the American TV
miniseries Attila. During filming of Attila, the production actually stopped in order for him to film his second lead role as
Dracula in
Wes Craven’s
Dracula 2000. Both films were released in 2000. In this early part of his career his most notable work was in
The Jury, a critically acclaimed UK TV
miniseries. In
Timeline which was released in 2003, Butler once again starred alongside
Billy Connolly. Based on the
Michael Crichton book of the same name, Butler played
archaeologist Andre Marek. Also in 2003, he starred as Terry Sheridan opposite
Angelina Jolie in
Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. The following year he was cast in the title role of
Joel Schumacher's film rendition of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
The Phantom of the Opera, co-starring
Emmy Rossum,
Patrick Wilson, and
Ciaran Hinds. Prior to filming The Phantom of the Opera, Butler had completed the independent film
Dear Frankie, which co-starred
Emily Mortimer.
In 2005, he starred in
The Game of Their Lives, a film based on a true story of the 1950 U.S. soccer team who beat England 1 - 0 in
Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The same year he was cast in as
Beowulf in the
Sturla Gunnarsson film production of
Beowulf & Grendel. Filmed entirely in
Iceland, Beowulf & Grendel was widely released in Canada to moderate success. During filming, Butler also participated in and co-produced the documentary
Wrath of Gods. Directed by
Jon Gustafsson, the film documents the dramatic circumstances the cast and crew faced while making the film Beowulf & Grendel. Later this same year Butler began production of
300. The film, directed by
Zack Snyder and co-starring
Lena Headey, was released in March 2007. The film was an adaptation of
Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name based on events surrounding the
Battle of Thermopylae in Greece circa 480 BC. 300 was released in the US on 9 March 2007. It currently holds the record for the highest opening weekend
box office gross in the month of March at over $72 million during that first weekend. As of May 2007, 300 had a box office gross of $438 million after nine weeks. Butler received various awards for this role including "Action Star of the Year" at the
Taurus World Stunt Awards and "Biggest Ass Kicker" at the 2007
Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards.
In 2006, Butler completed filming
Butterfly on a Whe
el (renamed Shattered in the U.S.) and began work on
PS, I Love You with
Hilary Swank for which he received two awards, one for worst accent and the other for least sexy American, based on
Cecilia Ahern's
novel and released in December 2007.
Nim's Island, which also stars
Jodie Foster and
Abigail Breslin, opened in cinemas on 4 April 2008. Butler was cast in the role of Nim's father, Jack, and as Nim's imaginary hero, Alex Rover. The dual role allowed Butler to use his natural Scottish burr when playing Alex, while he adopted an American accent as Jack.
[7]He next appeared in
RocknRolla, a gangster film directed by
Guy Ritchie, playing a street-smart gangster involved in a lucrative real-estate scheme. This film had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008 and was released in major North American cities in October 2008.
[8]Butler is also the voice of The Captain in the
Watchmen movie extra, "Tales from the Black Freighter" that will complement Zack Snyder's adaptation of Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore's Watchmen. The special was released on both Blu-Ray and DVD on March 24, 2009.
Butler costars in the
battle of the sexes comedy
The Ugly Truth with
Katherine Heigl.
[9] The film had national
sneak previews in July 200
9 and will be released on July 24.
[10][
edit] Personal life
Butler currently splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City. Butler is a supporter of
Celtic F.C..[
citation needed]
Butler was a heavy smoker but quit smoking in 2007 when he played Gerry Kennedy in
PS, I Love You. "I was smoking a huge amount and having real bad premonitions and then I got this role where the guy dies of cancer", Butler said. "The film made me contemplate death and realise I was playing Russian roulette with my health. I've stopped smoking since".[
citation needed]
Butler also prefers many people calling him Gerry. The main reason, as he told Jay Leno during an appearance on
The Tonight Show, was because he disliked the way people, Americans especially, pronounced Gerard.[
citation needed]
Butler said in an
Esquire interview in 2009 that he abstains from alcohol.
Butler joked about having a relationship, with
Jennifer Aniston on
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on July 16, 2009, but he is single.
ut instead I'm going to keep it original.
him is when he's strapped to that metal table in X-men 3 The Last Stand. It's kinda kinky, haha. Anyways, he makes an amazing Angel. He can fly in and wisk me away when ever he wants, just as long as those lucious pecs are there for me to rest 
my head on. He is gorgeous!!!
ied or straight??...and he plays Cormac McLaggen in Harry Potter 6....he also plays Lady Godiva (2008) .... Matt, The Last Flight to Kuwait (2007) (TV) .... Gregor Schatz , "Casualty" .... James Huppert (1 episode, 2006), - Happy Hour (2006) TV episode .... James Huppert, "Mayo" .... Lucas Harper (1 episode, 2006)... aka "The Gil Mayo Mysteries" (USA), - Episode #1.7 (2006) TV episode .... Lucas Harper....THATS ALL I K
NOW...if y'all know more...let me know
el (renamed Shattered in the U.S.) and began work on PS, I Love You with Hilary Swank for which he received two awards, one for worst accent and the other for least sexy American, based on Cecilia Ahern's novel and released in December 2007.
9 and will be released on July 24.[10]
gear" brand.
