Gerard Butler Has Never Experienced Anything Like What He Did on ‘How to Train Your Dragon’

Contents

Summary Gerard Butler Loves IMAX Cinema “My memory of watching 300 there the night it opened was special.”Epic Universe Review: Is Universal’s Latest Theme Park Worth the Trip? These Oscar Winners Inspired Gerard Butler Early in His Career “I learned a lot from them.”Gerard Butler on Bringing Stoick to Life in Live Action “I could bring a lot more to him other than just the voice.”Take to the Skies of Berk With Stunning Art and Making of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Sneak Peek How to Train Your Dragon

Summary

Gerard Butler chats to Steve Weintraub ahead of How to Train Your Dragon.
Butler reveals two of the biggest inspirations in his early Hollywood career.
Butler discusses the unique experience of transitioning from voicing Stoick in animation to portraying him in live-action.

Gerard Butler is a Hollywood icon whose 30-plus-year career in front of the camera has been packed full of memorable performances. From Zack Snyder’s 300 to the more recent role opposite Mike Colter in Plane, Butler’s reputation as an action hero has seen him take on many a demanding role. However, none could prepare him for his latest venture, reprising his role as Stoick the Vast in a live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon.

Fifteen years since Butler first voiced Stoick, he’s bringing the Viking leader to life, telling Collider’s Steve Weintraub, “I always had not just the voice but the physicality to play Stoick.” In the movie, Stoick’s son Hiccup (Mason Thames) isn’t quite the burly young warrior one would expect from the leader’s offspring. Instead, he’s scrawny, inventive, and sensitive, and rather than take pride in dragon slaying, he befriends one of the most elusive beasts, a Night Fury he calls Toothless.

Already receiving rave reviews, including an impressive 9/10 from Collider’s Maggie Lovitt, director Dean DeBlois‘ How to Train Your Dragon sees Butler team up with some of the most exciting young talent in Hollywood, including The Black Phone’s Thames and The Last of Us‘s Nico Parker. In anticipation of the high-profile release, Weintraub sat with Butler to discuss all things How to Train Your Dragon, as well as the movie stars that inspired him and a love for IMAX cinema.

Gerard Butler Loves IMAX Cinema

“My memory of watching 300 there the night it opened was special.”

COLLIDER: This movie is amazing. I’m sure you’ve heard it from everyone. But I want to start with this: I really am obsessed with getting more people in movie theaters to see movies. I think it’s the only way to watch a movie, especially one like this. So I’m curious, do you have a favorite movie theater?

GERARD BUTLER: I have to say, I do love the IMAX at Universal, just because I don’t get to see IMAX a lot. But when you do, it’s an awesome experience. And that thing is huge. My memory of watching 300 there the night it opened was special.

Wait, you were in 300? I’m joking.

BUTLER: And then there was another movie, The Ugly Truth, that I did. I remember I watched it… [Laughs]

I saw a video of you at Epic Universe, and the park looks insane. When you rolled in, was it a rock star treatment? What was it like going there? Did you get to go on any of the rides?

BUTLER: I went on all the rides, and they’re super fun. I went on roller coaster rides and then the little boat thing, where I got soaked immediately. I thought I was sitting in the safe seat, and it was like a bucket of water got poured on me. It’s amazing, though. You’re stepping into this world. They did such a fantastic job. I remember a couple of days before, I was texting a buddy in Scotland. He said, “What are you up to?” and I said, “I’m just going to open a theme park in Orlando, as you do.” I didn’t expect when I was five years old in Scotland going, you’re gonna open a theme park. It was a bit of a surreal experience, but the park is great.

Epic Universe Review: Is Universal’s Latest Theme Park Worth the Trip? 

Universal Studios has just opened its first theme park in over 25 years. But how epic truly is Epic Universe?

For people that are going to go for the first time, what’s the ride they should start with?

BUTLER: Hiccup’s winged glider is good because it kind of feels like you’re flying, you know? That’s a lot of fun. And it’s not too crazy. I went on some crazy ones there that I’m still sitting funny from, but that’s a great one.

These Oscar Winners Inspired Gerard Butler Early in His Career

“I learned a lot from them.”

Gerard Butler and Christian Bale in a pivotal scene from 'Reign of Fire' — Image via Buena Vista Pictures

I want to talk about a different dragon movie. Early in your career, you did Reign of Fire, which is one of my guilty pleasures. What do you remember about making that? Because the cast was really good, and it was pushing the boundaries. Back in ‘02, trying to make a dragon movie is like, forget it.

BUTLER: And then trying to make it where it can be dark and gritty and edgy and not fluffy and light. I thought they did a great job with that movie. I loved working on it. Christian Bale was so in it, and it was kind of a dark movie. For me, I was just starting out, at least in Hollywood, so I had a great time doing it. I’ll just never forget Matthew McConaughey was always in a trance to get into that character. He always stood with his arms out. I think that’s the first time that I realized, “Oh, I guess if you’re playing leads, and you’re playing a crazy character, you gotta put some effort into this,” because he was like [snarls] the whole time. I was like, “Damn!” He was great, by the way. Great.

But I would also imagine, though, early in your career, you’re looking at Christian and Matthew for what to do. They’re number one on the call sheet.

BUTLER: They came, they brought it. They were incredibly dedicated. Even watching them doing the fight scenes every time, bang, Christian would run down and dive and roll. I’m like, “Oh my God, this is nuts.” The first time, and then you watch them do it 20 times, and you go, “Okay, so if my career does take off, I guess I am looking forward to a lot of chiropractor appointments.” I learned a lot from them. But still, we’re all unique, and I also understood there’s certain places I’d like to take, to head off and almost be in different directions than both of them.

Completely.

Gerard Butler on Bringing Stoick to Life in Live Action

“I could bring a lot more to him other than just the voice.”

Jumping into why I get to talk to you. This is a very, very rare role. In fact, I don’t know anyone who’s done what you’ve done with this role, which is in 2010, you signed on to do a voice, you make a few sequels, they’re huge hits, and then it’s 15 years later, and you’re playing the character in live action. The whole thing is crazy. I don’t know anyone who’s done this. What the hell has this been like for you?

BUTLER: Can I just say something? I think I did it better than anybody else ever did do it. That’s just because you just told me nobody else has ever done it, so I feel like I broke records. [Laughs] But I’m trying to find that out, actually. Has that ever happened before? Where somebody’s done the animation and then gone and played the same character in live action?

With all the sequels, the answer is no.

BUTLER: Okay. Well, for me, I always felt like I had Stoick, I had the voice. Now, to get the opportunity where everybody else had grown up, unfortunately for them, I was grown up already, and I’m just a little older now, so that’s good still. [Laughs] I always had not just the voice but the physicality to play Stoick, so I’m glad it took this amount of time actually to come into the live-action because I feel like I’m a much better actor. I have a lot more life experience; I could bring a lot more to him other than just the voice. Because with the voice, you can only say so much, which is great. I love the animated movies, but you’re typically making a point per moment.

With the live action, I can say so much more in one moment. You’re showing grief, you’re showing humor, you’re showing self-doubt. You could be saying 10 different things in the same moment, and I find that is way more powerful. That’s my favorite thing, for me, in this movie are those small moments that Stoick has with his son. They’re incredibly emotional and very powerful and very affecting.

Hiccup pets Toothless the dragon on a cliffside at dusk in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon.

Take to the Skies of Berk With Stunning Art and Making of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Sneak Peek [Exclusive]

The film opens on June 13.

You’ve been in a lot of movies, you’ve been on a lot of sets. I was watching this, and I was blown away at the level of craftsmanship on the sets. The fact that it was on location added so much. What was it like for someone who’s been in so many films to actually be on set for this one, and how did it compare to the other things you’ve worked on?

BUTLER: Well, I’ve been on some pretty big films. I’ve never stepped onto a film like this, with hundreds of costumes and incredible costumes. I’ve never worn a costume like I had to wear, and then walk out, and the Colosseum’s sitting there. I mean, it’s the arena, but it felt like the Colosseum. Then you have the Great Hall, a massive Viking Harbor, the village of Berk, ships. I knew to take full advantage of that life. Especially me in that costume. It felt like a metamorphosis. It was four hours every day for me to get to that stage. I was watching the movie the other night, and at times I was like, “Is that me?” And I don’t normally do that. I’m normally there kind of judging, but I’m literally there going, “Is that me?” because it just feels like another character. That was the brilliance of makeup and costume and the world that we stepped into. It’s so damn believable and rich and beautifully built up that, yeah, it was great. But it’s hard. It was a heavy costume.

Yeah, I heard it was 75 pounds.

BUTLER: 75 pounds, and a lot of it was those action scenes. I had the shield and the ax. That was 92 pounds when I had it all on with the helmet. It was a lot.

How to Train Your Dragon opens in theaters June 13.