Exclusive: Gerard Butler Talks Dating Older Women, Apocalypse NowPosted by Kevin Carr (kevin@filmschoolrejects.com) on April 1, 2008
Filed Under: Abigail Breslin , Fat Guys at the Movies , Gerard Butler , Nim's Island, Interviews, Movie News
FilmSchoolRejects.comIt comes as no surprise to the readers of Film School Rejects and the listeners of Fat Guys at the Movies that Neil Miller’s mom is Gerard Butler’s biggest fan. Recently, we had a chance to chat with Butler about his upcoming film Nim’s Island. In the process, he was kind enough to answer some burning questions from Neil’s Mom.
FSR: How do your fans who have been with you through your whole career differ from your new fans?
GB: The fans that have known me for years are fans of the heart, fans of passion. I always feel that fan base would increase after roles like Atilla or Phantom. And even though Atilla is still a warrior role, there was very much something romantic about him. Whereas in the last year, there’s been a massive jump, and I think that has more to do with the kick-ass nature of 300. I think they probably don’t really care what I have to say in interviews. They really only want to hear me say the line, “This is Sparta!”
FSR: Of all the characters you’ve portrayed on screen, which is the most like Gerry Butler?
GB: I don’t know about nowadays, but while I was playing it, the character I was most in touch with was the Phantom. I was feeling a lot of stuff in my life at that point that had a lot of serendipity with the Phantom and what I was going through. But on a lighter note, the Guy Ritchie movie [RocknRolla], the one I have coming out. My publicist called me after watching that and said “I feel like I just hung out with you for an hour and a half. That is all you. The silliness, the goofiness, the strong part, the vulnerable part. It’s got all you in there.” That’s one people haven’t seen yet, but I think that’s probably most like me nowadays.
FSR: What is your all time favorite movie?
GB: Apocalypse Now. Even films that I love and blow me away, for some reasons, I don’t even watch them again. That’s a weirdness I have. But Apocalypse Now I think I’ve seen about seventeen times. I can just put it on and watch it. It’s visual. It’s stimulating. It makes me think. There are certain things you can’t explain. I love that film.
FSR: What is your idea of a romantic evening?
GB: I, in my limited life experience, have found that so often the best situations come out of nothing rather than having to dress the whole thing up. You’re not really trusting what goes on between two people. Some people might say, “We’d go on a helicopter ride here and stop at a fancy restaurant.” This is why I’m single. There’s a scene in So I Married An Axe Murderer when Mike Myers is out with this girl, and they’re just walking around, and they’re making use of the things they come across – statutes, park benches, and they’re dancing about. To me, I have had the best times when I’m just walking about somewhere, whether it be the streets of Paris or New York. I live in New York now, if I were to go on a date, to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and see things and make fun of things and come across the strange things that you come across that, to be honest, you don’t find when you’re sitting in a restaurant. That would be great for me. But like I say, that’s why I’m still single.
FSR: Are you interested in dating slightly older women?
GB: [big laugh] Yes. I’ve always liked older women. Preferably 40 or 50 years older.
There’s definitely a chance for Neil’s mom. We put in a good word for you, and Gerard Butler sends big kisses your way!
Nim’s Island, starring Abigail Breslin, Jody Foster and Gerard Butler, hits the theaters on Friday, April 4 from Fox/Walden.