Gerard Butler

Butler was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, the son of Margaret and Edward Butler, a bookie. Butler was raised in a Catholic working-class family and for the first two years of his life, lived in Montreal, Quebec. When his parents divorced, he returned to Scotland with his mother and siblings. Butler had no further contact with his father until he was 16 years old. Butler attended the Scottish Youth Theatre.

Butler graduated from the School of Law at Glasgow University before embarking on his early career in stage plays. His first roles were in Coriolanus and in the stage version of Trainspotting. Butler landed his first film role as Archie Brown in 1997's Mrs. Brown alongside Judi Dench and Billy Connolly. That same year, he appeared in a minor role in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. He followed this with several appearances in various independent films and several television series in the UK, including a role in the series Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and the films The Cherry Orchard, One More Kiss, and Harrison's Flowers.

In 1999, he began filming his first lead role as Attila the Hun in the American TV miniseries Attila. During filming of Attila, the production actually stopped in order for him to film his second lead role as Dracula in Wes Craven’s Dracula 2000. In 2005, he starred in The Game of Their Lives.

In 2007 year Butler began production of 300. The film, directed by Zack Snyder and co-starring Lena Headey, was released in March 2007. The film was an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name based on events surrounding the Battle of Thermopylae in Greece circa 480 BC. 300 currently holds the record for the highest opening weekend box office gross in U.S. for the month of March, with takings of over $70 million. By the end of its theatrical run, 300 had a worldwide box office gross of $456 million. Butler received various awards for this role including "Action Star of the Year" at the Taurus World Stunt Awards and "Biggest Ass Kicker" at the 2007 Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards.

Butler also performed the voice of The Captain in the Watchmen movie extra, "Tales from the Black Freighter" that was made alongside Zack Snyder's adaptation of Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore's Watchmen. The special was released on both Blu-Ray and DVD on 24 March 2009.

Butler currently splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City. He has a pug named Lolita.

Butler was a heavy smoker but quit smoking in 2007 when he played Gerry Kennedy in PS, I Love You. "I was smoking a huge amount and having real bad premonitions and then I got this role where the guy dies of cancer", Butler said. "The film made me contemplate death and realize I was playing Russian roulette with my health. I've stopped smoking since".

Butler said in an Esquire interview in 2009 that he abstains from alcohol.