Zack Snyder’s “300” grossed more than $450 million by the end of its theatrical run, but according to star Gerard Butler, that box office success wasn’t a bit of blood, sweat and tears.
While speaking with People, Butler said that an “insane” amount of actors were injured while filming the 2006 action epic, which followed King Leonidas (Butler) as he leads his 300 Spartan soldiers to war against an invading Persian army.
“I remember every day somebody was getting taken to the hospital,” Butler said. “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.”
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Butler never sustained an injury while shooting “300,” but he did “almost drown” while shooting the 2012 surf drama “Chasing Mavericks” after “getting taken down by a huge set of waves.”
“I thought I was done,” Butler said. “They had to take me out, take me to hospital, put me out, give me the defibrillator. I mean, it was intense.”
Butler recently starred in “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” now playing in theaters. The film follows Butler as Big Nick, a hard-nosed L.A. cop who travels to Europe to track down world-renowned diamond thief Donnie, played by O’Shea Jackson Jr.
While speaking to Variety, Jackson said he envisions an entire “Den of Thieves” franchise emerging from the latest sequel.
“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it: I’m trying to Vin Diesel this thing,” Jackson said. “To quote Ryan Reynolds, I want to work with Gerard until he’s 90. I just have so much fun doing these.”