Newcomer Bryan Larkin Impressed By Great Scot Gerard Butler On Film Set

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Newcomer Bryan Larkin Impressed By Great Scot Gerard Butler On Film Set

Hollywood newcomer Bryan Larkin was stunned to be working with fellow Scot Gerard Butler on the set of London Has Fallen, because just a month before the two met, he learned a family friend had close ties to the 300 star.

A neighbour told Bryan to say hello to Gerard if he ever met the hunk, but he brushed the comment off as wishful thinking, only to meet the actor weeks later when they filmed an action scene together.

"A woman who was my neighbour back home in Scotland told me that she knew Gerard, and she said if I ever met him I was to say hello," Bryan tells WENN. "I didn't think I ever would but one month later I was cast opposite him and gave Gerard the message. As it turns out she was right and is one of his mother's best friends. Small world!"

Larkin, who makes his Hollywood big screen debut in London Has Fallen, admits it was a real privilege working with Butler in Bulgaria, revealing his fellow Scot is a real action man with a great sense of humour.

"He has a wicked sense of humour when he's not working," he recalls. "I remember sitting between takes watching the YouTube videos of the craziest stuff people do on the internet and we shared stories about our time growing up in Scotland. He's a great guy."

But Bryan, a former competitive junior Scottish bodybuilder, also experienced how film stunts can quickly go awry, especially when a leading man is involved, when Gerard thought for a scary moment he had shattered glass in his eye.

"There was a car crash scene and he (Gerard) was inside the car upside down," Larkin adds. "There was fake glass still stuck in the visor of the car that fell on his face. He went quiet and just said nothing as we stood there watching.

"Everything just stopped and a doctor was called and he got the all clear. Gerard didn't want anybody fussing, and he never complained but I could tell he was p**sed because it slowed things down on the night. Then he apologised to me if he seemed p**sed.

"The best connection I had with him was when he still had that glass in his eye after a take and I asked him what was wrong and he said, 'Sorry man if I come across as a pain in the a**, I don't mean to'. I said, 'It's your movie, I see how much it means to you, take it out on me in the next take. I'm here to work for you'.

"After that he just went to town on me, every chance there was to make our scenes more authentic or longer, or improvise to make my part more memorable; he made it happen on set."

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/entertainment/14297942.Meet_the_East_End_born_star_who_is_starring_with_Gerard_Butler_s_in_London_Has_Fallen/


Meet the East End born-star who is starring with Gerard Butler's in London Has Fallen

For Bryan Larkin, a fictional catastrophe in London has landed him the biggest role of his career.

The Scottish actor, who has appeared in a number of independent movies as well as TV shows such as Shetland, Outlander, Doctors, River City, Shetland and Rebus, among others, has a significant role in a major Hollywood film for the first time, as he clashes with terrorists in London Has Fallen.

Larkin, raised in East Kilbride but born in the east end of Glasgow, appears in the film with Scottish actor Gerard Butler, the star who is reprising his role of Secret Service agent Mike Banning, which he played in 2013’s Olympus Has Fallen.

Olympus Has Fallen depicted a terrorist attack on the White House, and made more than £100 million at the box office.

In London Has Fallen, Larkin plays Lt. Will Davis, a Scot who aids Butler’s fight against terrorists in Westminster.

The movie also stars Morgan Freeman as Vice President of the US, Aaron Eckhart as President of the US and Angela Bassett as the director of the Secret Service.

Larkin, now based in London, said: "It feels good, but the truth is it's just good to be considered worthy to be working with the big names.

"It's validation for all the years of struggle I've gone through.

"But in the end it is always about the work. The quality of the work, who is involved."

Initially the role was written with an accent of a “posh English guy”, the actor, who studied drama at Langside College, said.

“When I arrived on set,” he said, “the director, Babak Najafi, asked if he could hear me say the lines in my own accent.

“He thought it sounded raw and more energetic, more commanding.

“And, being a Scot himself, Gerard thought it was a great idea.

“He is incredible to work with.”

In the movie, the British Prime Minister has died under mysterious circumstances.

At his state funeral, terrorists strike on London.

The double Scottish Bafta winner said he hopes a prominent role in a Hollywood blockbuster could be the high profile movie role he has been searching for since he began his acting career in 2002.

He says: "In some ways I wish I was where I am now five or ten years ago, but I would not have anywhere near the same body of work.

"The diversity of roles in indie film and TV has been very challenging.

"If I hadn't struggled as an actor the way I have, those roles would have gone to someone else. I've been lucky enough to work in America, Canada and across the UK on low budget films."

Larkin said that as a child, he did not imagine he would be an actor, as he was shy, and bullied.

He said: "I always loved movies and the thrill of going to the cinema as a child.

"The Rocky movie inspired me because I was bullied at school and was a bit of a loner.

"I was never good with crowds and developed a huge fear of speaking in class when I was in primary school. I was a terrible reader so acting was farthest from my ambitions."

He added: "I took up weight training and athletics and was on the path of becoming a body-builder, but fell into acting after joining a drama workshop at Strathclyde Theatre Group to try and build my confidence and immediately got a huge buzz out of it."

Larkin will attend the world premiere of London Has Fallen on March 1 in Los Angeles.

It is released in UK cinemas on March 4.

After studying drama and performing in theatre, Larkin made short films as well as appearing on TV and in films.

He won a Scottish Bafta for Running in Traffic, made in 2009, as well as a Trailblazer award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

He also won a Scottish Bafta for his performance in the short film Scene, in 2006.

Other films he has appeared in include The Red Machine, Battleground, and Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz.
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In the successful TV series Outlander, based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, he played the character of Geordie.