Celtic Life International Magazine June 25th 2013 issue

[fifiserafino]

Omgerry will add the article - coming soon!

[omgerry]

SUMMER 2013 ISSUE OF CelticLife International


Gerard Butler
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One of Hollywood's most likeable players,
Gerard Butler has built a career on being
a nice guy. the Paisley-bred actor talked
to Stephen Milton about his work and his
Scottish identity.
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Admittedly, he's not the best actor out there, and he freely acknowledges his limits. More often then not, his reputation as a ladies man - after romance with the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Biel and Cameron Diaz - has eclipsed his performances, but there's so much more to this power- packed performer...not that butler himself would admit that.

"Sometimes I think I'm going to be found out," he laughed in his charming West Scots brogue. "Sometimes I think people will discover that really I haven't a clue what I'm doing, that I'm just a mouthy Scot who got lucky."

By Tinseltown standards, Butler was a latecomer to the game. He shot to fame in 2006 when he was in his mid-thirties thanks to his hulking turn as King Leonidas in mythological comic book smash 300. He's since cultivated and action man image with guy Ritchie's RocknRolla and a decent turn in last year's flawed biopic, Machine gun Preacher. Despite being relatively mature when he found fame, butler is not immune to the pressures and temptations of the film industry. "I can see easily how the younger ones in the game go off the rails, " he said. "The money's been thrown at you, the fans too. You’re constantly being praised and it's hard to stay grounded. And it doesn't matter what age you are when you start or when success hits. I was that bit older then some of the young fry setting off now but it doesn't make any difference" its adulation and you have to block it out to an extent. There are a lot of privileges and opportunities taken for granted in this game, until you sit back and realize, it's a good life."

Of course, actors are not always adored-Butler's recent baffling attempt at gross-out humor as a foul-mouthed leprechaun in Movie 43 didn't exactly strike a chord with audiences, while the role of a former football pro in Playing for Keeps was a commercial disaster; although it did offer Butler the chance to play for his beloved Celtic, if only in and alternate reality.

So now he's flexing his impossible muscles once again as a Secret Service agent protecting the White House from North Korean terrorists in Antoine Fugua's Olympus Has Fallen, along side a respected cast that includes Angela Bassett, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman. "Antoine Fugua, the man who gave us Training Day - he's a genius," butler mused "Coupled with a cast of that caliber...I mean Freeman, Angela Basset, Aaron Eckhart... it's like, let me just pretend I'm meant to be sharing a scene with you: that I'm at the same standard...that we're not on completely different plains."

After training in weapons artillery and hand-to-hand combat for his grueling shoot in Louisiana, the 43-year-old admits action in his movies is starting to take its toll. "I think I can do everything," he explained. "I'm a typical Scot in that way - nothing's impossible. I can run and hurtle back and land on the ground. And that's fine if you do it once, but after 20 takes, you're cut to shreds. At one point my arm went black and blue all the way round because I was doing this same Kung-fu move over and over: I'm no spring chicken anymore." He flashed that twinkly grin. "And you'd think I'd have learned my lesson after Hawaii."

While on the set of a surf movie chasing Mavericks off the coast of Oahu nearly two years ago, Butler was caught out by a series of freak waves. "It's like you're in an avalanche and you don't know if you're ever coming up. You can't breathe and there's nothing you can do about it. It was scary and frightening as I just couldn't get up to the surface. So for future movies, I'm starting to see the logic in hiring a stunt gut. But it's hard because you want to be on that chopper, you want to be surfing that wave or you want to be in that fight. You want to be doing the shit that boys do."


A Scottish Childhood
Born in Glasgow, butler was immediately relocated to Montreal in Canada for the first two years of his lie, before returning to home shores with his mother when he was two-and-a-half years old. It's a transition he praises her for.

"My mum decided to leave my dad, and Montreal, because that wasn't going well. She brought us back to Scotland. That was a big decision and I have nothing but respect for her for making it, She didn't have and easy time," he shared. "My mother is ultimately like my hero. When she came back to Scotland she had three kids - and absolutely nothing else. She ended up taking night classes and became a lecturer in business studies. She then went on to become a senior lecturer at college, which is a big thing, and brought up us three kids on her own. It's superhuman stuff. I don't know if I could ever do it, but I loved my childhood. I was raised next to paisley and, coming from a huge Irish Catholic extended family, there was so much love surrounding us. There was also passion for being Scottish, and you didn't have to leave Scotland to feel it."

Butler added: "For me, Scotland is home, Scotland is my roots and, you know, you always get that feeling when you arrive back, each and every time."


Building a career
Butler didn't first set out to be an actor - after graduating with a law degree from Glasgow University, he was taken on as a trainee by an Edinburgh law firm, but his party-loving lifestyle led to dismissal a week before full qualification as a lawyer. So he headed south to London to pursue a career on the screen, eventually landing a string of minor roles in Tomorrow Never Dies and Mrs. Brown. "When I first moved to London, it took a good two or three years of slave labor, doubt, and what am I doing here attitude," he recalled. "I was working waiter jobs in Soho, as a telemarketer you name it. I did it while trying to pursue this impossible dream." but then I landed a job behind the scenes at the Mermaid Theatre in Blackfriars and that's where a shift happened, where I suddenly found myself in and environment where I could potentially meet people who could help me."

Introduced to director Steven Berkoff, who cast him in a stage adaption of Coriolanus, this eventually led to a theatre reworking of Trainspotting, offering the young actor a platform. "Those years in London, they gave me a foundation, As much as I love the international lifestyle my career has afforded me, and a base in LA at that, coming back to London - just like going back to Paisley - reminds me of what I went through to get where I am today."


The Future - Scotland's and his own
As he is a proud Scot, one wonders where butler stands on the Scottish Independence referendum, which will be held next year. Oddly, or maybe, practically, he's somewhere in the middle. "I'm not 100 percent sold on the Idea. I used to have intense feelings for and independent Scotland but now I'm more about coming together, rather then separation. I think some separate taxation and more connection with local government is smart, and should be worked on, but I don't think an independent Scotland is necessarily a good Idea."

Butler is currently in what appears to be his longest standing relationship to date with Romanian model Madalina Ghenea, whom he met on the set of a commercial in Dubai. Butler gives the impression he may be finally ready to put down roots. "Priorities change as you get older,: he said. "I guess part of me would love to have toddlers running around, to enter the new stage in my life. but sure, that's pretty normal for anyone really'"

And Career-wise, he seems to be embarking on a new direction too, with plans to start shooting on the harrowing Holocaust drama Dynamo, which charts the Ukrainian uprising against the Nazis as wall as Thunder run, an Iraqi war epic co-starring Matthew McConaughey and Sam Worthington, in similar vein to The Hurt Locker.

And what of the rumors of an appearance in the sequel to 300? "I think that rumor is done. Unless they've used CGI (computer generated imagery) and not told me about it, I don't think I'm in it'" he joked. "They offered it to me and I really liked the script but I didn't understand what I was there for; all I was doing was giving a political speech - it was only a minor sideline. It just felt better that I wasn't a part of it."

It's fair to say butler straddles the line between action and rom-com pretty successfully. In the past 12 months alone, he's gone from Machine gun Preacher to Playing for Keeps and now Olympus Has fallen. Is this an intentional mix? "I wish I was that calculating," he chuckled, "Honestly, I just take what I can get, I guess I like to mix it up...isn't that what acting's all about? Hopefully there's no fear that I'll ever be typecast. And of course it'd be great to think a big award might be around the corner. I mean it would be lovely, wouldn't it? So many say they aren't bothered but it's lovely recognition for your work. I think every actor has a moment where they think, that'd be nice. But we'll see down the line, who knows?" "My goals are just to keep working, be happy, be healthy, no-one can really ask for more then that can they?"

Jetsetting around the world may be all well and fine for now but in the future, Butler foresees a move back to his homeland, "I think ultimately that's what I'm working towards. LA, Dubai, and Australia - all these places are phenomenal and wonderful for the short-term, but I think I really want to move back to my roots and settle in Scotland - back to Paisley. Yeah, I could see that happening very easily. And whenever I return home it restores a bit of the bullishness I carry around with me. that can become a bit to softened in LA, so I like to recharge that way!"


The above article included two black and white photos, one is a head shot that looks to be from the same series that includes the second photo in the pics above the message box. The other is Mr B in a suit and tie around the time of Law Abiding Citizen.

[omgerry]

Thank You FIFI for your help, as always you ROCK..OMG

[catty]

Jul 27, 2013 19:33:52 GMT -5 omgerry said:

Thank You FIFI for your help, as always you ROCK..OMG

Thanks for posting this omgerry

Great article, I love the idea of Gerry moving back to his homeland and reconnecting with what is important to him.

[fifiserafino]

Thanks for typing that up omg

[scottishdreamer]

Thanks Fifi and OMG. Great read. Seems like it's mostly repeating stuff that's already been written. Always glad to have an article come out and find out what's going on in Gerry's head...at least for that day!

[fifiserafino]

It seems he's moved from 'mixing it up' to 'taking what's on offer' in terms of roles. As you say, SD, it could just be Gerry on the day, or maybe Hollywood is taking its toll. Glad he's been able to spend some time at home rebuilding his spirit.

[TeePat]

Very nice...he just wants to keep working, eh? I hope that's true! I think the moving back to Scotland is a new plan, we'd certainly miss him here in the states, especially since NYC is so close to me. I hope his dreams come true!

[floridarealtor2]

So maybe the roomers are true that he is going to sell his LA home. Read that he is having some work done and prob getting it ready to put on the mkt. I have a Real estate Agent that sells in his area. She sometimes sends me info of homes that have come on the mkt because I had a client that was interested in the area. Didn't work out bought on Long Island, but I still get some info. I'll follow thru and ck out. Hope he keeps his NYC place. It is beautiful. He did say once he may just produce, direct or quit. I hope he is not burned out.

[lifesrose]

Thanks fifi & Thanks for typing that up OMG. you are the best

[Tartan Spartan]

Jul 28, 2013 6:41:44 GMT -5 lifesrose said:

Thanks fifi & Thanks for typing that up OMG. you are the best

Same from me ladies. Thank you! Not sure why they are referring to Hawaii re his surfing incident when it was Mavericks in Northern CA!

[Lily]

Omgerry for posting this. You are a doll. Great Job !!!

[Dianne]

This is awesome, thank you.... Time to tweet about this!!!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS OMG}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

[kissthegirl]

A beautifully introspective piece. I really enjoyed reading it, and seeing how Mr B has progressed. It's good to know he plans to continue working, and that he will someday put down roots in the place he loves most.

And yes, it would be lovely to see his work recognized by his peers someday. If the films discussed in the interview come to pass, he may very well see that happen.

Thank you OMGERRY for all your hard work in bringing this interview to us!!!

[scottishdreamer]

It sounds like Gerry's talking about down the road... being in Scotland more. It's hard to know what time frame is in his mind.

Gerry is a busy guy on the run almost all the time. I can't picture him staying in Scotland for a long period of time unless he has something to occupy his time. Maybe he's looking around for property this summer to start things in motion.

I am happy just to hear he wants to keep working. Even though this seems like an endless summer vacation he's having!! Remember, he had to work all last summer so maybe he told Alan he is taking this summer off! Esp to spend time in Scotland!