Career Judgement for Gerard Butler

Some crushingly accurate observations (in my opinion only, of course) ...

Career Watch is a bi-weekly column by veteran film reporter and Moviefone guest-blogger Anne Thompson. Every other week, Thompson will look at the career of a major Hollywood star, analyze the moves they've made thus far and offer career advice on where they could or should head from here. This week: Gerard Butler.

Signature Line: "Madness? This is Sparta!"

Career Peaks: In 2006, 37-year-old Scottish journeyman actor Gerard Butler broke out in the role of the muscled warrior King Leonidas in Zack Snyder and Frank Miller's sword-and-sandal battle epic '300,' which grossed $456 million worldwide. While Butler hasn't achieved those heights since, he has delivered two modest hits, which scored better with global audiences of both genders than they did with critics. The misogynistic studio romantic comedy 'The Ugly Truth,' which stars Butler as a sexist pig who teaches uptight professional Katherine Heigl how to please men, grossed $203 million worldwide (Tomatometer: 14 %), while the action B-flick 'Law Abiding Citizen,' starring Butler as a vengefully-powerful prisoner, delivered a global $113 million gross (Tomatometer: 26%).

Awards Attention: For '300,' Butler was nominated by such groups as The People's Choice, MTV Movie and Saturn Awards. His one win: "Best Fight" from MTV.

Latest Misfire: After 'The Ugly Truth,' Butler went back to woman-hater rom-com fare, but didn't do as well, with 'The Bounty Hunter,' in which he kidnaps and battles ex-wife Jennifer Aniston. This movie was excoriated by critics (Tomatometer: 8%) and global audiences were less amused (worldwide gross: $125 million). Is it possible that women were turned off by his non-romantic approach? Or was it just a lousy movie?

Biggest Problem: Butler seems caught between his macho bad-boy women-hating rogue persona -- claiming he likes to bare his ass in movies, and joking, "I trimmed her bush," of sometime gal-pal Aniston's Christmas party -- and his more serious acting. Has he turned off women with his tabloid exploits and poor film choices? Even men didn't go to see Guy Ritchie's ultra-nasty 'RocknRolla' or the destructive sci-fi actioner 'Gamer,' directed by the guys who brought you 'Crank.' Is Butler an action man's man or a femme-friendly romantic lead? Can he do both? His choice of roles -- as well as his roaming accents -- seem to confuse people.

Current Gossip: While denying anything serious with Aniston (even after he was photographed in France with his hand caressing her butt), Butler reportedly flew to Paris to romance TV interviewer Laurie Cholewa, after falling for her during their 'Bounty Hunter' interview.

Biggest Assets: At 40, Butler is an aggressively masculine actor with a wide range: He can do just about anything, from heartfelt romance ('Dear Frankie') to melodrama ('The Phantom of the Opera') to bone-crunching violence ('RocknRolla'). He is in his physical prime in a way that Russell Crowe is not, and he has acting chops. During a time when movie stars can't seem to find audiences anymore, Butler has developed a global following and can get movies made. While his post-'300' returns are modest, most filmmakers are seeing profits on his films. "He can do no wrong," says The Film Department's Mark Gill, who's trying to put together a sequel to 'Law Abiding Citizen.' "It doesn't matter what he's in, he's still highly appealing. He's review-proof. That's the mark of a true movie star: Even in lesser movies, he's survivable, economically."

Next Step: Butler is currently filming the Shakespearean role of Tullus Aufidius in Ralph Fiennes' 'Coriolanus.' Ramping up for a June start in Pennsylvania is 'Machine Gun Preacher,' in which he plays a biker-drug-dealer-preacher who defends Sudanese orphans, directed by Marc Forster ('Quantum of Solace'). He's also playing a crude, foul-mouthed leprechaun (CG is involved) in Brett Ratner's contribution to an untitled omnibus of comedy shorts assembled by the Farrelly brothers. Although he attended the opening of the 'Phantom' sequel 'Love Never Dies,' he has no plans to participate in a movie version. "He's sought-after," says producer James Jacks, who wants to cast him for two of his upcoming movies. "He's an action movie star. He has a great physical presence."

Career Advice: While Butler's PR reps are clearly trying to clean up his rough-and-tumble rake image via Haiti relief work and cover stories in Men's Health and Architectural Digest, he can't seem to keep his mouth shut. On the one hand, his drinking days are behind him; on the other, he's no angel, and as they say, "where there's smoke there's fire." Meanwhile, his 3300-foot Chelsea loft boasts 13-foot mahogany doors, crystal chandeliers and R-rated ceiling frescoes.

"I've had to fight even harder to try and do something at an interesting level," he told one reporter. The best way for Butler to gain some control over his career -- face it, Hollywood and global financeers want to give him formula actioners and rom-coms -- is to develop some decent material himself. In fact, he has started a film production company, Evil Twins, which is prepping several projects, from biopics of writers Frank McCourt and Scottish poet Robert Burns to Gabriele Muccino's 'Slide,' a movie about a Little League coach who is trying to bond with his son while fielding interest from his players' gorgeous moms.

Butler needs to reclaim the support of audiences and critics by making some smart choices on quality material, even if commercial potential is limited. While it never hurts to do voice work on an animated family hit like 'How to Train Your Dragon,' it doesn't exactly buttress his career profile. His best efforts have been period epics like '300,' 'Beowulf & Grendel' and the miniseries 'Attila,' which landed him '300' in the first place.

Let's hope that Legendary and Warner Bros. green-light Frank Miller's eagerly awaited 'Xerxes,' the sequel to '300.'

http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/05/06/career-watch-gerard-butler/

Interesting. She was being nice.

Ger

wow its not bad but still she says inbetween the lines ...thats what I think....get some better roles...somehow...

Yes, I've heard worse and nothing between the lines. Just bold face slicing him to pieces stuff. I didn't really see anything she said as not being true really. I thought it a bit nasty to say his PR people were trying to clean up his image with Haiti relief. That makes him look like it was something that was requested upon him to change his image. Although PR people may get him the magazine articles, I believe ultimately it is the celebrities choice to support any cause they choose.

Maybe I'm too niave but commiting yourself to $50 grand a year over the next five years to help build schools in that chaotic country is no small undertaking.

Ger

I think this is a quality assessment of what has been going on in Butler land. It's quite obvious that the blogger did a lot of research inside and outside the world of Butler.

I'm impressed.

I thought she was right on target. Alot of us on the Pantry have been saying this all along.

I don't understand why Gman doesn't get it? (re:his career choices, that is)

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Although PR people may get him the magazine articles, I believe ultimately it is the celebrities choice to support any cause they choose.

People support charities all the time to get the positive PR. It's sad. I am so glad I am out of that business!

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Latest Misfire: After 'The Ugly Truth,' Butler went back to woman-hater rom-com fare, but didn't do as well, with 'The Bounty Hunter.' This movie was excoriated by critics. Is it possible that women were turned off by his non-romantic approach? Or was it just a lousy movie?

Biggest Problem: Butler seems caught between his macho bad-boy women-hating rogue persona and his more serious acting. Has he turned off women with his tabloid exploits and poor film choices? Is Butler an action man's man or a femme-friendly romantic lead? Can he do both? His choice of roles seem to confuse people.

Biggest Assets: At 40, Butler is an aggressively masculine actor with a wide range: He can do just about anything, from heartfelt romance ('Dear Frankie') to melodrama ('The Phantom of the Opera') to bone-crunching violence ('RocknRolla'). He is in his physical prime in a way that Russell Crowe is not, and he has acting chops. During a time when movie stars can't seem to find audiences anymore, Butler has developed a global following and can get movies made. While his post-'300' returns are modest, most filmmakers are seeing profits on his films.

Career Advice: While Butler's PR reps are clearly trying to clean up his rough-and-tumble rake image via Haiti relief work and cover stories in Men's Health and Architectural Digest, he can't seem to keep his mouth shut. On the one hand, his drinking days are behind him; on the other, he's no angel, and as they say, "where there's smoke there's fire." The best way for Butler to gain some control over his career -- face it, Hollywood and global financeers want to give him formula actioners and rom-coms -- is to develop some decent material himself. Butler needs to reclaim the support of audiences and critics by making some smart choices on quality material, even if commercial potential is limited.

Thanks for starting off the discussion so well, ladies.

I've quoted the parts to her column that I find the most insightful.

Bluntly, in my opinion, some of his movie choices lately have been lousy, sub-par, and formulaic, even by Hollywood standards. For several years now, GB's career seems to be driven by who he knows and what he's offered, rather than a steadily growing foundation of solid, interesting characters in well-written and well-directed storylines. At times, I ask myself "Who is actually managing his career for the longterm?"

This tough pussy-cat image is beginning to irritate me when I know it isn't married to consistently quality acting. Of course, it could be a case of dollars and cents, but I admire those actors (male & female) who choose simple, discrete roles and build a long lasting career from it. They don't seem to aim for the next HUGE blockbuster.

I'm also confused by the discrepancy between the ambition that GB seems to have and his pathway to achieve 'his version' of success. He can made the tabloids at the drop of foul word, rude finger, comical laugh, nightclub jaunt, resort opening blahblahblah and yet .... respect for him within fan circles seems to be on the decline. It's not hard to figure out why. One doesn't start their own production company if not to create better roles for themselves and make a buck or two. So why wouldn't that same someone consider the image they are sending to Joe Citizen who buys cinema tickets?

Rom-coms have been his downfall; they are like bloody fairyfloss, all sugar and no substance. Give GB a good comedy like RnR and he is terrific. Give him a historical (and physical) drama like 300 and he will go further than most. What I haven't seen as yet is a dramatic role where I forget who Gerard Butler is because I have become so absorbed by the character he has portrayed.

Unfortunately, I still see him on the big screen, not a character.

Nay wrote:

What I haven't seen as yet is a dramatic role where I forget who Gerard Butler is because I have become so absorbed by the character he has portrayed.

PotO?

Great points, Nay.

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Bluntly, in my opinion, some of his movie choices lately have been lousy, sub-par, and formulaic, even by Hollywood standards. For several years now, GB's career seems to be driven by who he knows and what he's offered, rather than a steadily growing foundation of solid, interesting characters in well-written and well-directed storylines. At times, I ask myself "Who is actually managing his career for the longterm?"

I am wondering if he is getting offered any quality roles. Maybe he is being passed over for good roles.

Quote :

What I haven't seen as yet is a dramatic role where I forget who Gerard Butler is because I have become so absorbed by the character he has portrayed.

Amen! My ex loved 300 but he couldn't watch it with a straight face last week. My roommate and I were trying to think of one "serious" actor that we know of who has kissed random girls on the street or participated in a 'Buttgate.' We came up with 'nada.' My roommate is a member of my film club and he said he can't imagine ever seeing any of GB's movies and discussion them without thinking about the tabloid stuff.

I don't get why the GB machine keeps pushing the bad-boy image. Maybe they are wanting to turn the phangurls off? Or are they covering for something else? It distracts from his acting and I find it hard to take him seriously as a professional.

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I don't get why the GB machine keeps pushing the bad-boy image. Maybe they are wanting to turn the phangurls off? Or are they covering for something else? It distracts from his acting and I find it hard to take him seriously as a professional.

I'm not so sure anyone is pushing the "bad-boy" image so much as Gerry is just being Gerry. I've never understood the definition of a "phangurl" unless that means those fans that are deluded in to believing that Gerry Butler is in real life like his character portrayal of the Phantom??? Actually, I might be one of them then, but not how you think.

I believe Gerry's "acting out" is his mask he wears to cover his pain. I think when he played the Phantom role and the reason he was so good at it is that he knew how to play to that kind of pain and angst. I still believe Gerry has some serious abandonment and trust issues and these could be why he fears committment, thus, tries to fill his "needs" with one night stands. He avoids the pain by keeping relationships superficial.

I always loved Gerry's ability to dissolve in to his characters. It's one of the main reasons I became a fan. I saw too much of him in TUT and TBH on the surface, even though he was entertaining. I didn't look up on the screen and see the characters so much as I saw Gerry Butler playing them.

In his defense, though, I think the roles he's been offered haven't exactly been very "challenging" as of late, although he has been offered a couple that he had to turn down due to other commitments, that would have been good ones (Sherlock). I also read somewhere he was offered the part of "Knight" in Knight and Day and he was doing TBH. Poor timing I guess. His portrayal of Clyde was his meatyest one and there are talks of a sequel to that one which I believe would be fantastic!

Although I believe he feels he should be able to do what he wants and be who he wants off the screen, I still think he needs to clean up his act a bit, especially if wants to be taken seriously. If he gets to a point where his off screen life starts to hinder his ability to work, he'll get a reputation of being difficult with regards to tardiness and fluffing lines and keeping such late hours, he's wasted the next day. It all could be dejavue, only last time, he lost his job as a lawyer.

If he's trying to crush his phangurl image, which I'm not sure why he would, he may not be aware that some of them are already well steeped in their delusion of him and will never "see" anything he does as wrong and they'll love him no matter what and in the meantime, he'll risk loosing the rest of his fans in the process and no one will take him seriously.

Ger

good point there Ger with taken him seriously, well I woud love to see him in a good role like 300 or POTO again, If I am allowed to mention that been to the cinema watched Robin Hood ..fantastic and I would love to see GB in such a Blockbuster. That Roe would have suited him too.

I have my suspicions as to why there are constantly what appear to be staged photos of him but they are just that--suspicions. I don't know the man and will probably never meet him. I have a hard enough time figuring out the people I do know and figuring myself out as well.

The thought that he is masking his pain by acting out is a romantic notion, IMO, but could be true. Or he could be a total jerk. Actually the possibilities are endless.

But what Gerard Butler is-he's an actor and he may have to figure himself out to continue his career. Or maybe he does have it all figured out. His mystery is what keeps people intrigued so he may never reveal the truth.

here i go with my two cents again: (HA!)

to me it's a shame that we can't judge these people on the acting alone. his ACTING was what caught my attention in the first place. in a perfect world that's ALL it would be about. oh well....who said it was perfect????

GB is certainly not perfect as a men and person everyonehas faults and secrets , life would be boring without. And as we say so here in my country....he uses the toiletrole in the same way as we do...hope so lol...

i like that saying from your country, andrea!! so true!

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to me it's a shame that we can't judge these people on the acting alone. his ACTING was what caught my attention in the first place. in a perfect world that's ALL it would be about. oh well....who said it was perfect???? Razz

Another great point!

My roommate said something along those lines last night. He was reading another fan site and said he was getting turned on by some of the erotic comments they were making about what they wanted to do with GB. Then he took it back because these women are talking about a man they don't know. It kind of creeped him out when he thought about it.

The bottom line is how would we like it if someone was dissecting our every move (preaching to the choir here because I do it)? I noticed on JJ that they really dredge up EVERYTHING, including some intimate details I don't want to know!

This is what good conversation is supposed to do--make you see another side of something you have never thought of. Thanks girls!

i don't read JJ so i don't know what details you are talking about....but stuff like that always makes me wonder how these people KNOW these things. most likely it's all made up anyway. again...JMHO!!!

They didn't know--they were just speculating! It's horrible but funny all at the same time.

After reading this stuff today, I hope GB has a good security detail.

i think you are right about fans thinking they "know" gb from his roles and public persona, nay. truth is...we don't and won't. end of story!

hope you are feeling better!!

Nay wrote:

Personally Julie, I cannot stand the POTO movie/musical. I don't tend to get into any debates about it because of that opinion. I was certainly aware of who he was in that movie even though I also saw a tortured character in red pants. From everything I have read online about this movie and his portrayal, I have drawn the conclusion that people love him in the role because they love him anyway and that adoration definitely extends to thinking he really is a tortured person playing a tortured character. To some fans, that comparison allows them to 'know' him.

Unless we're in the psychiatrist's office with him, we'll never know what makes this guy tick simply because we can't believe everything we read or hear from his lips.

GADS Nay, you got me right there.

I'm not sure about things, but it does bother me when everyone reverts to Gman's interviews during the POTO press junkets as if that was the bible to know about Gman. It's hardly a drop in his character's bucket. I'm beginning to think that was a great way to get a lot of sympathy for a struggling actor. Although I'm not a POTO fan, I got caught up in the 'why isn't he bigger than he should be'.

I actually saw the play long before Gman did his film and thought, what was the big deal? Personally, I love Patrick's voice and would prefer his voice over Gman's singing voice.

As Gman's mentioned he's been in pain...so have many of us. I can empathize, because I can understand, but I'm not going to cry 'baby'. To me, that's a bit woosy.

kayanne wrote:

My roommate said something along those lines last night. He was reading another fan site and said he was getting turned on by some of the erotic comments they were making about what they wanted to do with GB. Then he took it back because these women are talking about a man they don't know. It kind of creeped him out when he thought about it.

I'm impressed that your roommate took a step back and realized the reality of the situation.

You gotta wonder about people like that, who write such stuff so everyone can see.

andrea wrote:

good point there Ger with taken him seriously, well I woud love to see him in a good role like 300 or POTO again, If I am allowed to mention that been to the cinema watched Robin Hood ..fantastic and I would love to see GB in such a Blockbuster. That Roe would have suited him too.

I thought about how that role would have been a great one for Gerry when I saw the trailer.

sami_stardust wrote:

here i go with my two cents again: (HA!)

to me it's a shame that we can't judge these people on the acting alone. his ACTING was what caught my attention in the first place. in a perfect world that's ALL it would be about. oh well....who said it was perfect????

His acting is what caught my attention too and sent me to the computer. I had seen him in ROF and Tomb Raider and then tuned in in time to see a half distorted, tortured man standing in thigh high water and that closed the deal. I don't look actors up because they're hot looking. Hollywood hunks are a dime a dozen. There was something else there. I thought he was edgy, raw and brought you in to the emotion of the moment and seemed to be a highly underrated actor. He had the "eye of the tiger" it seems.

Nay wrote:

Personally Julie, I cannot stand the POTO movie/musical. I don't tend to get into any debates about it because of that opinion. I was certainly aware of who he was in that movie even though I also saw a tortured character in red pants. From everything I have read online about this movie and his portrayal, I have drawn the conclusion that people love him in the role because they love him anyway and that adoration definitely extends to thinking he really is a tortured person playing a tortured character. To some fans, that comparison allows them to 'know' him.

Unless we're in the psychiatrist's office with him, we'll never know what makes this guy tick simply because we can't believe everything we read or hear from his lips.

Being hurt can make someone a jerk too but from what I've heard, he's one of the most accommodating, friendly and nice guys in the business. We shouldn't sell him short because we're getting some bad press from the media. I give him the benefit of the doubt. And I say this. If what someone is reading as negative about him and they feel he is more jerk than nice guy, then why bother anymore? Just move on. But if you're judging him to be a jerk, isn't that the same as if you're judging him to be a tortured soul? What's the difference? One doesn't know him to be a jerk by his actions anymore than anything else.

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The thought that he is masking his pain by acting out is a romantic notion, IMO, but could be true. Or he could be a total jerk. Actually the possibilities are endless.

To me, the mark of a true jerk would be a guy who snubs his fans and disses them to their face or to the press. Maybe it's all an act, but I've seen him cross a busy street to get to his fans, come out in the middle of the night because he knows they are out there on the set looking for him or send his PR people to fetch fans that were waiting all day and interrupted his dinner to talk to them. That doesn't sound like a such a bad guy to me.

I think there's a little bit of jerk in everyone but Gerry being a total jerk, never. Gerry seems to be a guy who is still taken aback by it all. He doesn't understand a lot of the attention he gets still and without knowing him personally, I know people who have met him numerous times and his actions were anything but "jerky".

I'm not sure how we are defining "acting out" here. I suppose that means the little bad behavior things he's been caught doing by the paps but let me ask you this. Has he been caught with an underage girl? Has he been caught doing drugs or beating up a woman or cheating on a wife? No. He partys a bit too hard, he like to karaoke, he gets away with grabbing a butt or two, he lacks some social graces, sure, but he loves his mother (and this is a big one) and he's afraid of commitment because I believe he has some trust issues. You don't have to know someone personally to see that.

I'm not saying I don't get a bit perturbed with him too! The only thing that sets me off is feeling like even though his escapades may be just ornary and not really doing anyone any harm but maybe himself, in his position he is going to be judged by stuff he does because that's what journalism has resorted to to get attention. No one wants to hear the good stuff. They want to hear about the bad, the fallen, etc. That sells so they'll be looking for it and even when they don't find it, they'll make it up and ol' Gerry supplies the fuel. But his past track record, admittedly by him, has been rocky even though this is a man who graduated with top honors from a prestigeous University. He's no slacker, so we draw our conclusions based on what? He obviously sets out to do something, he puts his all in to it but what causes him to drift off in another direction?

Then when we hear things like Mr. Fiennes having concerns about his "motivation" during filming, we get a flashback to his lawyer days when he obviously chewed his own foot off because he didn't like what he was doing. It's a lot easier to quit something your not happy with because you were thrown out then to walk away from it of your own volition.

We, as his fans, tend to feel a bit let down and worried because we have vested interest above and beyond the normal ticket/dvd buying audience in support of him and his career with exclusive fan sites and such. The fan site owners, like DK, feel it the hardest then we the members also feel a bit "betrayed" if things don't progress as we think they should. Then again, this could be his fault or it could be because his only motivation is to be famous and have lots of women, but the latter I'm doubting.

Also, K, I'm not sure what site your male friend was lurking on but I know that most, if not all, reserve their more explicit discussions, if any, for the eyes of the members only usually. I can't imagine any sort of erotic discussion of GB being anything above R rated because there are limits put on these web sites to what can be easily viewed by children if they should lurk. I know there are exceptions but any fan site that is allowing erotic discussion to be had within full view of the world wide web, without membership, could get in to trouble and get shut down. Maybe it doesn't take much to get him "turned on" and perhaps if he lurked on say, Megan Fox's fansite, he'd perhaps see the things men say and would that also creep him out or is he not an equal opportunity luster? Aren't women entitled to think dirty thoughts about a hot guy? Is that just something reserved for males? They look at hot women all the time and I shutter to think what goes through their little minds! I wonder what he says about what his buddies think when they say what they'd like to do to some women and don't say they don't either. ALL men lust! It's how they're hardwired in order to propagate the species

Having said that, I have gotten away from other sites that want to talk about nothing but his curly, cute hair and biceps. It gets old and it's shallow and it shows where their fandom lies, ergo in his looks. He's got that appeal, no doubt about it, but he needs the inner guts to sustain it.

Good discussion.

Ger