Few modern actors embody the spirit and bloody machismo of ’80s and ’90s action heroes better than Gerard Butler. You practically have to throw an “F-Bomb” in every time you say his name aloud – Gerard F—kin’ Butler! From rescuing presidents and killing terrorists in “Olympus Has Fallen” to saving his dear family in disaster flicks like “Greenland,” Butler’s whole career is built on the foundation of characters who are tough, vulnerable, and still larger than life. Now, Butler is back as “Big Nick” O’Brien in “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera”, the sequel to the 2018 heist thriller that became a cult favorite amongst action buffs.
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Written and Directed by Christian Gudegast, the new installment sees Butler’s now cop-turned-gangster thrown into a high-stakes heist inspired by the real-life Antwerp Diamond Heist, shifting the action from the streets of Los Angeles to Europe. With its global scale, high-octane action, and trademark twists, Butler promises fans a “wild ride” that’s bigger and bolder than the original.
Our very own Mike DeAngelo sat down with Butler to discuss the sequel’s evolution, his unlikely knack for creating enduring action franchises, and his gratitude that he had never played giant characters like Batman or Bond.
The first film was this kind of little heist movie that could be clearly influenced by “Heat” and other genre classics. And it gave you that feeling of coming to watch someone play a nice game of checkers and all of a sudden; you’re watching a chess match instead. It had the benefit of surprising the audience. And this one basically needs to play 3D chess to accomplish that effect…
That’s brilliant. I’m going to use it.
Well, what were basically the story conversations as a producer going into “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” where it’s like, “What do we need to accomplish on this one, and how can we expand on this?”
Well, when the first one came through, the actual fact that we had a good audience base in this film was very much appreciated because there was a kind of wildness to it. There was a tension. There were great characters. But it was kind of raw and gritty and really in your face. And that’s what I think was a little bit different than “Heat” because “Den of Thieves” was funny and raw and insane. And that’s what I think made us stand out differently.
And I thought that we could definitely push that. Firstly, we had a bigger scope and budget, and we said, “Let’s go to Europe.” Let’s give it a completely new mood, style, and tone and enjoy a whole other place because the first one was more contained. It was in L.A., and we got rid of a lot of the heaviness,, family stuff,, andic issues. And it was more like—that’s gone. Nick’s not happy. Donny’s up-leveled, and we’re on a collision course, but let’s make it happen over there.
We upped the scope, we upped the tension, we had more fun with the characters, and we know that the twists and turns really work in our movie. And because somebody like Big Nick is especially unpredictable, you have your story, and then you have a character where you don’t know what he will do. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do. He’s brilliant, but he’s also a walking disaster at times. And that makes the story so much more interesting.
He suddenly teams up with Donny, a brilliant mastermind but not used to having to contain a bull in a china shop, and Big Nick walks into the middle of this. And there’s so much scope for brotherhood, bonding, buddy cop, but subversive cop, trust, revenge, loyalty, and humor. This movie really pushed it. It’s very funny, but it never escapes from the truth, visceral tension, and suspense. It always feels genuine, but it’s a blast.
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Right! I had a big smile on my face during that club scene where you’re just walking in like a kid in a candy store and like you shoot off the “F—k the police” line. Was that in the script, or did you surprise O’Shea with that?
No, I would like to say that I surprised him with that, but Christian [Gudegast] wrote that. I just enjoyed saying it.
[O’Shea] reacts so genuinely, like, “You’re going to go there?!” It’s pretty incredible. But regardless, like you were saying, your character, Big Nick, is a self-described killer and a piece of s—t. How much of a release is it to play someone with that level of macho and yet inject real humanity in him? Because he’s really a human character.
I think that for me as an actor, one of the things I’ve always loved is being able to put humanity into a character. What I don’t often do is the more humorous, big machismo side of that—and that is Big Nick. And I think there are so many colors to Big Nick. There’s so much to explore with him, and tell a really cool narrative of this massive heist and the danger. So, to be able to have this brashness that is raw and unapologetic in your face, but then see underneath that there’s a wounded soul, which gives great drama and great comedy but really makes it very touching.
So you, at the end of this movie, I feel like I’ve really been on a journey with this guy and with Donnie, with them together, and even with the other characters. But when I was a kid, what made me want to act was that I would go on a journey with an actor in some world, and at the end, I’d say, “Oh my God, what an amazing journey!” I want to do that. I want to take people on that journey. And weirdly, at the end of this movie, I got that feeling more than almost any movie I’d ever done. At the end I went, we just went on a fantastic journey with him. And I’m so blessed.
From the start of this movie to the end, not just with Nick, with everybody, but especially Nick and Donnie, especially Nick from where he comes from. It’s such an epic adventure with so much color and many different things. It’s a kind of epic adventure with all the tension and the humor and the action and the suspense and the weirdness and the surprises and the twists and the turns. It has a lot going on.
Yeah. Christian’s done pretty well to outdo himself here. I love the yin and yang chemistry between you and O’Shea and that scene where you’re sitting down, and sharing background stories. Do you think they were telling the truth or messing with each other?
Well, that’s funny you say that because I did say to Christian when we spent a week in Scotland, and he came over, went through castles and hotels, and worked on a script. We went hikes, and we just shot the shit with each other. And that was one of the things that I was like, “What if they were just bullshitting each other?” And we wrote that into the end at one point where it was like, “Well, when you were saying that? I was kidding!” But it was too cute. And I think it was more powerful than all of this bonding; no matter which way the movie goes, the bonding was real, and that’s what’s powerful. I think they’re part “Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid” and they’re part of the odd couple, you know? They’ve got it all going on, but to get to the end and then think, “Oh, none of that stood for anything,” makes a mockery of your enjoyment with these guys, you know?
Sure. The first one ended, and you said, “Holy sh-t, that was really good.” And then this one ends, and you’re like, “Well, there’s gotta be a third one now!” How much do you guys have planned out as far as maybe a potential third in the trilogy?
Christian pitched an idea the other day, and I liked it. It was just very kind of quick and definitely with the excitement of this movie. So that might be the way we go, but I do love the conclusion that we found. Yes, it does beg for a third, but I thought it did it in a cool way because, even if you never had a third, the ending is still awesome.
It’s another one of those things where you’ve been able to collaborate and create all these different action franchises organically. And this is another one in your “bat utility belt” that you’ve built out here. It’s like you’re carrying the flag for all of the eighties and nineties action films that I grew up on and was just delighted in. Do you go into these thinking, “Well, how do we focus on quality here, but also longevity,” or are you not even focusing on the possibility of a franchise?
No, maybe it’s just now because many of these franchises are coming to bear, but I wish I had a more intelligent answer. If I’m being honest, none of these movies that have become franchises I ever chose or thought would become a second movie. “Greenland” never crossed my mind. “Olympus Has Fallen” was literally, “Let’s just make a great movie and hope people go and see it.” It was not for one second that I considered him to be coming back until the movie did well. And we went, “Oh my God, people liked this movie!”
That’s what happened with “Greenland.” The same thing with “Den of Thieves.” I never thought of having a second one until the first one came out, and we saw more than the initial audiences because it performed well at the movies. But it developed this life. I wish more people had seen it on a big screen, but when people started watching it, it really developed. It had an aura and a feeling about a uniqueness, which is why we’re now here with the second one. But no, that was not planned.
Yeah. So you’ve got all these franchises that are centered around you. You’ve got “Greenland,” you’ve got “Den of Thieves,” “Plane,” and you’ve got the “…Has Fallen” series. Speaking of which, I think the sequel was called “Night Has Fallen” at one point. Where are we at in the production of that?
I’m thinking about it more because now that I’m doing press again, I’m noticing people asking about this, where it’s sometimes just been a conversation on the street where somebody goes, “Hey, what’s happening with that?” And I brush it off and go, “Yeah, yeah. Maybe one day!” I have to say, of all the action movies I do, those are the ones that are most brutal on my body because I would give everything to that. And it was fight sequence after fight sequence. And I broke bones on that. I actually broke two bones on my neck in that very movie.
And so, they definitely take a chunk out of me, and I think I had done my thing. But now, as you talk about these franchises, and I am thinking this was really the first for me, other than “How To Train Your Dragon,” which was not my franchise. I’m part of a beautiful thing. I’m so happy I am, but that would always be a franchise whether I was in it or not. On the other hand, “Olympus Has Fallen” was the first one that I did. It was my first franchise.
I don’t even know ourour budget, but it worked out perfectly for me—man, I’m just talking to you right now and asking these questions. I’m not joking. It’s weird because sometimes you think, “Oh, I’ve got to do press,” but you forget the actual fact that the press brings up a lot in it. You remember and examine a lot by being asked great questions. And then you start going, “Oh, actually, maybe!” So you might be one of the main reasons that I end up doing a fourth “…Has Fallen.”
I’ll take a producer credit!
Yeah.
I recently spoke with Morena [Baccarin] about “Greenland: Migration.” She was teasing it out. Disaster movies are my guilty pleasure. I grew up in the eighties and nineties, and they were always on cable, so I’m very excited about that. When can we see a trailer? What can you tease about that one?
I’m not sure when we will see a trailer for that. I know we’re in the middle of editing. There’s a great movie in there—a great idea. It’s very powerful. And again, it really connects to the family. It’s epic, for sure. They gave us a way bigger budget to play with, and the scope is incredible. But ultimately, even with all that scope, it is about this family coming together in times of hardship. It’s about courage. It’s about love. It’s about loyalty to each other. And it’s about working through things in the face of adversity. And there’s some really great stuff in there, but we’re in the middle of editing. It’s one of those movies where the effects come in, and it’s easier to see, and we’re there right now, but I’m really excited to see how it’s going to finish up because I think it’s a compelling, emotional movie.
Speaking of franchises. There was a time when you were kind of campaigning or joking to play Batman, I think for Zack Snyder at the time. Are you still in the market for something like that? Or would you take yourself out of contention since you have all of these other things going on?
Do you know, that’s funny. I have never thought that—even for one second—about playing Batman. Maybe it was a joke, but as I sit here going, “Wait, Batman… me?” I guess you do a lot of interviews in junkets, but no, [Zack Snyder] never discussed it with me. I think that’d be a little weird to be Leonidas and Batman. Everything that’s happened in my career had to happen the way it did. It is what it is, you know? But one of the great things about being able to play Leonidas is that I could move on. You define a role, but then you move on.
All respect for Bond—it would be amazing to play James Bond, but I don’t know about that. Like that’s it. It’s tough to break away from that. I still managed to do these franchises, but nobody’s saying, “Well, he’s only Mike Banning,” or “He’s only Stoic,” or “He’s only Big Nick.” I can still be all of those things and be able to break away from that. So, in that respect, I feel blessed in the way it’s gone for me.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” hits theaters on Friday, January 10, 2025 via Lionsgate.