Gerard Butler talks about his film london Has Fallen where he plays a Secret Service agent
What made Olympus Has Fallen a successIJ
The film took everyone by surprise. What people responded to was its classic element. It really felt like a throwback into a great 80s movie like lethal Weapon and Die Hard. It had a lot of grittiness, action and those pure 100 per cent heroic characters who were just loyal and funny with those great one liners.
What pressures did you face while making the sequelIJ
I was pretty beaten up from the first one and didn’t know if I would want to go ahead and commit the same to the second one because it did take a lot out of me. I also thought where do you goIJ You have already attacked the White House, you’ve taken the President hostage so I didn’t know where we can take it. That was the real big challenge. How do you raise the stakes, how do we make it bigger. If you do a second movie you’ve got to make it more exciting and thrilling. It’s me and the President in london and it reminds me of World War Z or 28 Days later. It’s like the whole city is cleared out but just him and me trapped. And we don’t know whom to trust, who is watching, where we can go and all of that leads to something really exciting.
Tell us a about your character Mike. Has anything changed for himIJ
After the first movie, he has won his way back in the trust of the President. He is the man you want by your side which he now has been for a couple of years. But, he has a kid on the way and he has to re-evaluate the situation — whether he wants to take these risks anymore. He would gladly lay down his life for his country but he is not thinking about himself anymore. He has his wife and a child which will be born in a couple of weeks. And it was not a great start for him as he is composing his resignation letter as the movie starts and, of course, he is called into this one last project.
Could you share an experience from the setsIJ
I almost got shot in the face by a blank. It was a mistake as he was supposed to be firing at the dummy and when we turned he still had an extra bullet and he fired right past me. It was like a blast and a punch in the face but thank God I was fine!
Was there a special diet you followed to look so fitIJ
It was a lot of training for a few months. I’m used to it now, but there is that element at the beginning where you actually have to put down your packet of Cheetos and quit eating cheeseburgers. But it’s great, because I don’t know what kind of shape I would be in if I wasn’t an actor. It is a great thing to put these things in front of you learning to fight, learning to trim your body.
What’s the best part of the filmIJ
london Has Fallen has one of the best visual experiences you will get when you get out of the theatre. But, yet again, it’s that heart and emotion which grounds the gritty realism.