Gerard Butler, the action film star known for leading roles in “300” and “Olympus Has Fallen,” told American Military News CEO Kellen Giuda in an exclusive interview what military role he wants next.
Butler previously played a Secret Service agent and former Army Ranger in the action trilogy that began with “Olympus Has Fallen.” And in 2018, he played a newly promoted submarine commander in “Hunter Killer.”
While he wasn’t sure exactly what military role he’d like to take on next, he knew what direction he wanted to go: up.
“Whether it’s like, a four-star admiral – it could be a courtroom drama or something,” Butler said, imagining himself in the shoes of a senior officer.
He said he wants to play “somebody that has to deal with the responsibilities or the politics. I think that could be quite, quite interesting.”
Butler added that there’s also a more pragmatic reason he could see himself moving up in the ranks on the big screen.
“It might be fun – especially now that I’m getting older, and I do these fights, and it’s like, ‘I don’t believe you anymore,’” he laughed.
READ MORE: Our interview with Gerard Butler at ‘Hunter Killer’ premiere on USS Intrepid
In the interview, Butler said he’s “pretty much always” training with people who have military experience for his action roles, “whether it’s a Marine or Ranger or Special Forces.” He added that for his newest movie, “Plane,” director Jean-François Richet “insisted” that military members be cast in the film.
“We had three guys who actually all did a great job acting, who were all from different branches of the military,” he said. “Our writer himself … he had also served in the military, too. So for a movie that’s actually about a commercial airliner, we had a lot of military personnel in there.”
Asked what message he had for the military community, Butler said he wanted to convey “just huge respect.”
“I can’t even imagine the heart and soul, the training, and what you have to go through every day to protect us,” he said. “You’ve been big fans and very supportive of my work, and I’m so inspired by you guys … and I guess I’ll see you all soon, because I’m always doing military screenings somewhere.”
