Gerard Butler Reflects on the Grueling and Injury-Filled Shoot of Zack Snyder's 300
Gerard Butler recently opened up about the demanding and crazy production of Zack Snyder’s 300, which is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel. It’s a visually stunning epic, but it was a punishing shoot for its actors.
While speaking to PEOPLE for his new film Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, Butler described the toll filming took on the cast.
He shared: "I remember every day somebody was getting taken to the hospital. You’d be doing a fight, you turn around, there’s a guy down there, a spear went in his eye. Another time, you turn around, there’s a guy over there who just fell, broke his ankle. I mean, it was insane."
Holy crap! That sounds absolutely insane! But, despite the hazardous conditions, Butler came out of the production unscathed… at least physically.
His most dangerous on-set experience came years later during the making of Chasing Mavericks, a surf drama released in 2012.
He recalled being pummeled by a massive wave, leading to a life-threatening ordeal. "I thought I was done. They had to take me out, take me to hospital, put me out, give me the defibrillator. I mean, it was intense," Butler recounted.
Zack Snyder’s 300 was a massive success, earning over $450 million worldwide, and it solidified Snyder's reputation as a visionary filmmaker.
The film recounts the story of King Leonidas (Butler) and his 300 Spartan warriors as they faced overwhelming odds against the Persian army led by King Xerxes. Its distinctive visual style and dramatic storytelling remain iconic.
The franchise expanded with 2014’s 300: Rise of an Empire. Plans for a TV series prequel are in development, with Snyder potentially returning to direct and produce.
When talking about that, he said: “It's super fun, I love the world. And even just in the preliminary meetings we've had talking about, like, 'What if this happened or that happened,' just a lot of it's just really fun to like go, wow, it's a rich standard.
“It's similar to this [Twilight of the Gods] in a weird way. As far as there's a lot of underpinnings."
Snyder has also explored a sequel titled Blood and Ashes, and it was described as an ancient Greek war epic that follows the relationship between Alexander the Great and his second-in-command, Haphaestion.