Culture news ‘I give you my word’ Actor Gerard Butler made a difficult decision to land the lead role in the film 300
In the film 300, he led armies of soldiers like a hero. In reality, Gerard Butler had to show his credentials to film in Zack Snyder’s film.
No smoke without fire
You all remember 300, the American epic directed and co-written by Zack Snyder released in 2006. On the bill, we found a certain Gerard Butler in the lead role. Physically impressive in the film, he had not yet convinced certain executives at Warner when launching the project. In any case, this is what we learned during an interview with Alan Horn, former president of Warner Bros., at Hollywood Reporter. Indeed, while Zack Snyder thought he had found his perfect Leonidas with Gerard Butler, Horn admitted to not having been as excited as the famous director because of the actor’s performances in the film The Phantom of the Opera. When the interpreter learned that things were blocked on the big boss’s side, he took his courage in both hands and decided to call him to arrange a meeting.
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When they see each other, Horn is first impressed by the actor’s build. “He was really physically imposing” he admits, which is a good point for landing the role. Only here, the director of Warner knew a little detail about Butler: the actor was an inveterate smoker. After a cordial exchange, Horn proposed a strange deal: “Okay, you can have the role, but on one condition” he declared. “You need to stop smoking”. The interpreter, surprised, asked the leader if he was serious. “Yes. Give me your word, and the role is yours”. To which Butler responded in the affirmative, assuring that he would never touch another cigarette in his life. Why did Alan Horn impose this funny condition on the actor? No one knows. It is, however, possible that the intensive training that awaited Butler motivated the Warner strongman to ensure the actor’s full physical capacity.
A cigarette ? No not good !
The rest, we know it. Gerard Butler underwent intensive training and followed a strict diet. Every day for six hours, the actor did CrossFit-type exercises and weight training sessions while learning numerous fight choreographies. Boasting a budget of $60 million, 300 grossed over $456 million at the box office despite mixed reviews. As for the big question: “Did Gerard Butler never touch a cigarette in his life after 300?“, the answer is : “No”. Since 300, the actor has been photographed several times with a cigarette in his mouth. This shows that we can virtually defeat armies of soldiers, but not be able to definitively extinguish the desire to fry one.
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