‘Give me the word and the role is yours’: Gerard Buttler could only play 300 on this condition

Adapted from Frank Miller’s highly acclaimed graphic novel, Zack Snyder’s 300 is an epic tale of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartan soldiers faced off against Xerxes and a massive Persian army in 480 AD.

In the face of an invincible enemy, the 300 displayed superhuman courage to the last breath; Their bravery and heroic sacrifice inspired all of Greece to rise up against Persia, thus laying the first stones of democracy.

With oily bodies and bulging chests, Gerard “Leonidas” Butler and his Spartans face off against the armies of the god Xerxes in an unequal battle. Obviously, the historical reality was significantly different. But whatever.

Although Gerard Butler began his career nearly a decade before Snyder’s film, and was the surprising lead in the 2005 adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical The Phantom of the Opera, it’s certainly true. 300 which put his career in orbit. A highly desirable role, which he got only on one condition.

“Give me the word and the role is yours”

In an interview with Hollywood Reporter Back in 2011, Alan Horne, one of the heads of the studio Warner, who led the production of the film, recalled this anecdote: he agreed to give the role to Gerard Butler on the condition that he stop smoking. If Snyder was indeed considering giving Butler the role of Leonidas, Horne didn’t see the casting idea at all. That’s how he met the actor.

“Butler performed the Phantom of the Opera for us. I said, ‘I don’t see him for this role. To me he was a ghost. A few days later this Gerard Butler called me. He said, “Can I come see you?” So he came and he’s really physically demanding. I knew he smoked from the filming of Phantom of the Opera. I even smelled cigarettes on him.

So I said, “Okay, you can take the part. But on one condition: you stop smoking.” He replied, “Are you serious?” I answered yes. “Give me your word and the role is yours,” he replied.

A heavy smoker and for a long time, we imagine that it was not easy for the actor to quit smoking. In July 2012, That’s what he said His difficulties in removing himself. It took me 40 tries to stop them hypnotizing me 23 times, injecting sodium pentathol into my veins, electrolyzing my ears and lasering my hands.

About three months ago I was out with friends. Russell Crowe was one of them. We were 12 people and 11 were smoking. That’s it, I’m back.” Until this evening, Butler explains, he had been clean for 4 years without touching a single cigarette. He started smoking again for a few months before quitting again.

Still, for 300, he actually did himself a favor, considering that he had to do some violent training to prepare for the role, exercising no less than 6 hours a day.