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first choice to present to you is the absolutely gorgeous and brilliant
Scottish actor (a penchant for accents, you say?) Gerard Butler.
Gerard was most recently seen in the Joel Schumacher directed “The Phantom
of the Opera” (2004) in which he did all of his own singing and the exquisitely
acted independent Scottish film directed by Shona Auerbach called “Dear
Frankie”, recently shown at The Screening Room. This is the film
that cemented my attraction to Butler, although I’d also seen him in “Harrison’s
Flowers, “Reign of Fire”, “Timeline” and “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle
of Life”. If this man doesn’t become a major force to reckon with
in North American film, there is no justice in the world. It’s time
the overrated Tom Cruise is taken down a few notches and this is the man
for the job.
Gerard,
or Gerry to his friends, was born in Glasgow on November 13, 1969.
He’s 6’2”, built like a brick you know what and his rugged, handsome facade
should appeal to most women in the universe. I’ve already taken a
private poll among my girlfriends and the decision was unanimous…he’s HOT!!
What’s more, this man is smart, in touch with his feminine side and his
friendliness is often commented upon in interviews. He has a Law
Degree from Glasgow University but thankfully decided after one week of
working in a law firm that he would rather be an actor! To quote
a recent article I read Butler is “a man every woman wants and a man every
man wants to be.”
His
first screen role was in 1997’s “Mrs. Brown” starring Billy Connelly and
Judi Dench in which he played John Brown’s younger brother, Archie.
He had a small part the same year in the Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies”,
and went on to do various television projects and independent films in
the UK including the title roles in “Dracula 2000” and the 2001 mini-series
“Attila”. Gerry was actually rumoured to become the next James Bond
but it was only that, a rumour.
Gerry
recently completed work on the film “Beowulf & Grendel”, a medieval
adventure of a Norse warrior’s clash against a homicidal troll, based on
the epic poem. Canadian actress Sarah Polley plays the witch Selma
and Stellan Skarsgård is King Hrothgar. Guess who plays Beowulf?
Butler is also in pre-production to play Scottish poet Robert Burns in
the movie “Burns” with Julia Stiles as his true love, Jean Armour.
Watching a charismatic and compelling actor like Gerard Butler makes learning
about history and literature a lot of fun! But the truth is, he’s
perfection in any genre. Look for him in the future because I promise
you, you won’t be disappointed and he will become a major star!
For
loads of information and fantastic photographs of Gerry, check out www.gerard-butler.net,
www.gerardbutler.moonfruit.com
and www.imdb.com.
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