{"id":400837,"date":"2026-01-09T00:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T00:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/400837\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T00:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T00:29:11","slug":"gerard-butler-on-action-stardom-stunts-and-greenland-2-migration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/400837\/","title":{"rendered":"Gerard Butler on Action Stardom, Stunts, and Greenland 2: Migration"},"content":{"rendered":"

GERARD BUTLER IS one of the few stars who can still get action movies into theaters based on his name and star power alone<\/a>\u2014and because of that, many may not realize just how great an actor he really is. Sure, it\u2019s a joy to watch him blow people away as Mike Banning in the Has Fallen series<\/a> or bend the law to his liking as Detective \u201cBig\u201d Nick Hathaway in Den of Thieves, but, as he\u2019s aged, Butler has grown into playing the everyman quite well. When Greenland was released in 2020, at the height of COVID, we got to see him embody the role of a family man thrown into chaos as an apocalyptic comet hurtled to Earth. Now, six years later, Butler returns to once again play John Garrity\u2014this time embarking upon a mission to rebuild an unrecognizable planet in Greenland 2: Migration.<\/p>\n

Disaster movies are a dime a dozen, and most people know the score at this point. A catastrophic event, maybe a tornado or an earthquake, turns the Earth inside out as the masses run screaming into oblivion. A lone hero, saddled with a group of stock characters, has to ride out the storm and save the day against all odds. What made the first Greenland stand out, is that, yes, it had all of that, but director Ric Roman Waugh forced you to also sit in moments of quietness. A family drama first, disaster movie second, Greenland allowed Butler to add a new wrinkle to his impressive skillset as an actor. As John, he wasn\u2019t an expert marksman or a badass who knew how to fight\u2014he was simply a father doing his best as the world around him disintegrated. <\/p>\n

With Greenland 2, we pick up as our survivors are living in an underground bunker. Garrity and his family are forced to leave the bunker and set off into the new Earth, traversing the ruins as they attempt to rebuild. Like its star, the film itself is a quiet reflection. Moments of intensity or violence take back seats to Garrity and his family gazing at a world they no longer recognize.
<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t to say there isn\u2019t any action; It\u2019s a Ric Roman Waugh<\/a> joint, of course, and he brings the goods. But, where the first felt parallel to a world falling apart during the pandemic, Greenland 2 instead feels in conversation with our world dusting itself off and trying again. There\u2019s something lovely about taking the disaster model and presenting a way forward. Butler, for his part, is terrific as a father in way over his head, now as humanity\u2019s de facto repairman. We\u2019ve become so accustomed to the actor’s wry humor and quick jokes as he bashes some goon\u2019s head in, but here, when the going gets tough, Garrity resorts to violence only when offered no other choice. Far from Big Nick cackling as he abuses authority, Greenland 2 gives us a man hanging on by a thread. He could crack at any moment, but he holds on because his family needs him. <\/p>\n

\"gerardLionsgate<\/p>\n

Butler returns as John Garrity in Greenland 2: Migration, with Morena Baccarin and Roman Griffin Davis as his family. <\/p>\n

Unlike so many of his action hero contemporaries, Butler continues to pivot when he could so easily do the same thing over and over again\u2014it\u2019s one of the biggest reasons he\u2019s been able to keep his genre films afloat in theaters as others have disappeared into streaming or VOD. Ahead of Greenland 2: Migration’s release, Butler sat down with Men\u2019s Health to talk finding the truth within the fantastic, decompressing after long stunt-heavy days, and much more.<\/p>\n

MEN’S HEALTH: Much of your work has a villain for you to focus your attention on, but in the Greenland films you have to direct that energy at something more abstract. You come across some bad guys on your journey, but the real threat is the Earth itself. How do you wrap your head around that?<\/p>\n

GERARD BUTLER: What it allows you to do is to focus more on the people around you, your family, and the people you come across. What I like that we did in this movie, as you say\u2014there’s no villain. In fact, sometimes it’s the opposite. There are some refreshing moments where you meet these unlikely heroes, those who didn’t need to, but decided that they wanted to give us a hand and help us, and sacrifice for us.<\/p>\n

Often, for me especially, the kind of movies I make, there’s a lot of psychic energy and time, and the focus is on me going towards the arch villain. And in this, the arch villain is everywhere. It’s the elements. It might be people, it might be your resources. We’re fighting all over the place in this one, but it’s nice that you don’t have to necessarily create one particular villain for us to be struggling against.<\/p>\n

MH: You’re usually on your own when leading an action film, but here you\u2019re a family man. Your partners are an entire family. How does that dynamic change when having to solve problems as a unit?<\/p>\n

GB: It actually takes the weight off my shoulders. There are lovely moments when John has to be rescued by his son, or his wife, or needs a pep talk from them to gear him up again because he’s struggling. At the same time, there’s that extra responsibility because for John, they are more important. Their lives are more important to him than his, and sometimes it’s a lot easier to just look after yourself, but he’s looking out for three people. And of course, because he’s a good man, he’s also looking out for other people. He’s a team player. <\/p>\n

\"newGilbert Carrasquillo<\/p>\n

Butler at the How to Train Your Dragon Tribeca Festival premiere in 2025<\/p>\n

MH: I like that John has an adverse reaction to violence. It\u2019s something he doesn\u2019t want to have to resort to, as opposed to someone like Big Nick in Den of Thieves, who seems to get off on it. Can you talk to me about that push and pull?<\/p>\n

GB: It’s an interesting part of the story. This guy is not a fighter\u2014he is not trained in any way. He doesn’t take any nonsense, but he doesn’t want to get into a fight; He would only really do it if it comes to saving his family or saving himself. <\/p>\n

So, of course, there are moments. In this world, you’re running into people who don’t care, and who don’t have those higher values. They’re using this new world to capitalize and steal and thieve or even be vindictive. He’s a protector in that respect, and that leads him into some altercations along the way. It’s nice when those altercations are coming from a different place. It’s like desperation; he’s the lion fighting for his cubs.
<\/p>\n

MH: I started my writing career with a focus on action and stunts, so I\u2019ve been following director Ric Roman Waugh all the way back to when he was a stuntman. What do you like about collaborating with him that keeps you coming back?<\/p>\n

GB: We’ve become good buddies. Ric and I work well together. We have our moments. We’re both passionate people with points of view, and often we also have the ability to bow down and say, “No, your idea is better there.” Or we come to a blend of both our ideas, but I like that he likes to go deep. He likes to go dark. I think I’m the counterbalance to that. Sometimes, I think he likes to go too dark, and he thinks I like to go too light. I can play dark, but I love a movie like this where you can still have smiles in these moments of joy or humor, or even the gallows humor that comes with that.<\/p>\n

He does a very good blend of action, grounding that action and making it believable as opposed to fantastical. I find that often if you’re making a movie based in some kind of real life and then the action is just on a different level… I enjoy it, but I disconnect from it. I’m not so emotionally involved. He’s very good at keeping the actor right, truly, and emotionally, in the middle of everything that’s going on. Especially for a movie like this, where you want to ground everything about this world, including the action and the challenges that they’re going through, and make that feel as real as possible. Then the audience could believe they’re in there as well. <\/p>\n

I like playing characters who the AUDIENCE CAN IDENTIFY WITH,<\/a> because they could SEE THEMSELVES IN HIS SHOES.<\/a> Then I try to communicate that into THEIR MIND<\/a> and THEIR EXPERIENCE.<\/a><\/p>\n

MH: I don\u2019t think you get enough credit as one of the few guys still getting action films released in theaters year in and year out when so much of that has gone to streaming. How has your approach to action changed as you\u2019ve gotten older?<\/p>\n

GB: I think I’m probably going to be slowing down in these kinds of movies, to be honest. But what has happened is, for me, there’s been a natural progression to playing characters that maybe were more skilled, were more expert, were fighters like Mike Banning, et cetera, into everyman heroes. People who aren’t specialists, but who stand up for what’s right. You come at the action from a different way. And I like that because there’s a truth to that.<\/p>\n

I like playing characters who the audience can identify with, because they could see themselves in his shoes. Then I try to communicate that into their mind and their experience. So hopefully, they get the same out of this movie. I’m saying this, but then again, I just made How To Train Your Dragon. [Laughs] But no, if it’s a movie based on some kind of reality, it\u2019s easier to believe in.
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MH: I\u2019m always fascinated with how actors like yourself might decompress after an action or stunt-heavy day on set. I asked O\u2019Shea Jackson Jr. this<\/a> back when Den of Thieves: Pantera came out, and he said he played a lot of PS5. You don\u2019t strike me as much of a gamer, despite starring in Gamer. What does your come-down look like?<\/p>\n

GB: It’s very simple. I often just go home and chill, or go out to dinner with people or go for a walk. I think you’d learn naturally to decompress. I’ve done it for so long that I think you just get a little better at decompressing or not. And if you don’t, you don’t sleep so well, and you’re a little more tired the next morning.<\/p>\n

For instance, on Den of Thieves, Christian Gudegast, our director, loves the family. He loves to make the cast and crew the family, so he’s never happier than when he has all those guys coming out to dinner, so there are 20 guys. Even if you’ve had a crazy day, you go to dinner with all those guys, and already you might be talking about the day, but the energy is different. You’re letting all that go. That’s one way.<\/p>\n

I lived next door to O’Shea on that movie, so I would hear him play his video games. Then he would get up in the morning and train, and the wall was right next to my bedroom, and he would put his beatbox on the wall and play it full blast. And maybe I’d been shooting a night shoot, and he’s up first thing in the morning and I’m like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe this.” But I love him. I really had such a great time working with him\u2014he’s such a good kid. He’s just one of those guys on set who jokes all the time, but never has an attitude. His jokes bring people up. He’s just a great guy to be around, and a very naturally gifted actor.<\/p>\n

\"gerardGetty Images<\/p>\n

Butler and O\u2019Shea Jackson at a screening of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

MH: Now that we\u2019re on Den of Thieves, I can\u2019t leave without asking about part three. I love those movies, especially the first\u2014I kind of think it\u2019s a masterpiece. Can you say much about the third just yet?<\/p>\n

GB: Yes, there’s a script that’s currently being written. I know we’re right there. Christian has all the ideas and the story. I don’t think I’m allowed to impart anything, and I don’t actually know what the story is in detail. He’s given me rough summations, but I know that the studio has been talking to him, and I think he started writing or is literally about to. So, yeah, we should be having a third. <\/p>\n

But you’re right\u2014that first, man. I loved the second one, but the first one was the shit. <\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. <\/p>\n

Buy Greenland 2: Migration Tickets Here<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Stories\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Brandon Streussnig is a freelance film journalist in New York City with bylines in Vulture, GQ, Inverse, Fangoria and more. He is the creator of the annual Vulture Stunt Awards celebrating the best in cinematic stunt work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GERARD BUTLER IS one of the few stars who can still get action movies into theaters based on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,428,213161,28031,134,433,2387,344,213160],"class_list":{"0":"post-400837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-content-type-news","11":"tag-contentid-d53f81b8-1c7e-44ad-8d8c-2b3a62833d5a","12":"tag-displaytype-long-form-article","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-hasproduct-true","15":"tag-locale-us","16":"tag-movies","17":"tag-shorttitle-gerard-butler-wants-you-to-relate-to-his-heroes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}