Speaking to People with O’Shea Jackson Jr. to promote their latest film Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, Butler looked back on several movies he starred in and the number of injuries he sustained across all of them. In 300‘s case, the actor said, “I remember every day somebody was getting taken to the hospital. You’d be doing a fight, you turn around, there’s a guy down there, a spear went in his eye. Another time, you turn around, there’s a guy over there who just fell, broke his ankle.”
Additionally, Butler referenced a car injury he got from Pierce Brosnan making Butterfly on a Wheel, which released shortly after Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel came out. Brosnan, according to Butler, drove him through a wall and “this thing was supposed to stop as he was supposed to slam the brakes. We hit a wall on a rooftop, 3-foot-high wall, full speed, in a Range Rover. It destroyed my neck, and it was after 300. I was already so beaten up in 300.”
I was already so beaten up in 300.
Loosely inspired by the Battle of Thermopylae, 300 told the story of King Leonidas (Butler) who, in response to Persian King Xerxes’ advancement on Greece, led 300 Spartan warriors on a military campaign to thwart off the invading Persian armies. The film ultimately kicked off Snyder’s directorial career — going on to direct films like Watchmen and Man of Steel — and spawned a follow-up 300: Rise of an Empire, along with several parodies and memes of its infamous “This is Sparta” scene. A 300 prequel series is also reportedly in development, with Snyder comparing its story to that of his Netflix animated series Twilight of the Gods, which received largely positive reviews from critics.
Gerard Butler Is Back on the Big Screen
Butler’s latest film arrives over seven years after the first Den of Thieves, which director Christian Gudegast attributed to various delays including the COVID-19 pandemic, on-set injuries, and the war in Ukraine. Reviews for Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has been mixed to positive, though it recently attained the number one spot at the box office, beating out competition from Robbie Williams’ musical biopic Better Man. Later this year, Butler will play Stoick the Vast in the upcoming live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie, having previously voiced the character in Dreamworks’ animated franchise.
300 is available to buy or rent on Prime Video and Apple TV+. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is currently playing in theaters.
