BBC Newsbeat Interview

Subject: BBC Newsbeat Interview Thu Nov 26, 2009 1:24 pm

Thursday, 26 November 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_10000000/newsid_10003100/10003188.stm

Gerard Butler has admitted that constant press reports painting him as a womaniser aren't always good for his reputation.

The Scottish actor, who has been linked in the tabloids with a string of women including Jennifer Aniston and Lindsay Lohan, says the speculation isn't necessarily a good thing.

He told Newsbeat: "I think it does do your reputation harm if this is happening every week.

"It gets to the stage when you want to go, 'Don't come near because then we'll be having a thing! Stay over there and we maybe can shout to each other'."

He admits he discussed the issue with Jennifer Aniston when they met filming upcoming movie The Bounty in New York over the summer.

He said: "I remember I had the conversation with Jennifer because she gets the same thing but in a different way."

The tabloids frequently speculated that the pair were romantically involved during the shoot and Gerard says the imagination of some reporters was "actually quite commendable".

"We spent every second of the movie pretty much together so what happens is you're on set together, we're pretty much in the same car the whole movie," he added.

"Every day the press would come, they'd take the same shots and the headlines would be, 'They're still in the car together' - yes, because we're filming!"

He recalled one incident on set when the on-screen drama even appeared in the papers as a story.

"It was very funny, at one time we were doing a scene where she takes a call. She was being spied from another rooftop and they said, 'She obviously stopped filming to take a call from her lover Gerard Butler'."

The 40-year-old recently celebrated his birthday at the Glasgow premiere of his new movie Law Abiding Citizen with 120 friends and family.

He admits that it would be nice to meet someone special, although it's not his top priority at the moment.

He said: "It would be good to settle down eventually.

"It's not like I'm sitting there with laser vision going, 'OK, are you the one?' because what I'm doing is great as well.

"I've been in relationships and that's been great but that has its own problems when you're travelling as much as I do.

He went on to and also said: "I've not been [in a relationship] and that's been great but that has its own problems."

Gerard's busy promoting Law Abiding Citizen, which also stars Jamie Foxx, and centres on a man who decides to take justice into his own hands after one of his family's killers is set free.

He admits that even though the thriller's been toned down a bit it's still quite graphic.

He said: "It's pretty violent, there's no doubt about it, but if it's too much for you you just put your hands over your eyes - which I've seen a few times."

"Maybe only 1% of people have said it's too violent. The very reason people say it's violent is the reason that people loved it so much because it doesn't shy away from that."