Be it Zack Snyder’s fantasy war film 300, or voicing the character of Stoick the Vast in the animated film How to Train Your Dragon, Gerald Butler’s reportoire is multi-faceted.
The Scottish actor, 49, now returns with the third installment of the hit Fallen franchise. In 2010, he played Mike Banning, a secret service agent in Olympus Has Fallen, and later reprised the role in 2016’s London Has Fallen.
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Now, Banning is back with Angel Has Fallen, where he is being framed for an attack on the US President, Allan Trumbull (played by Morgan Freeman). Excerpts:
What are your thoughts on returning as Mike Banning?
In this chapter, you realise that this man you’ve seen go through all these firefights, explosions and crashes, has paid a price. Banning has been silently struggling in his work and at home, but he’s keeping it all a secret because he doesn’t want to let people down.
It’s not the greatest timing for the whole nation to think he’s a terrorist at large. He’s also very clear on the fact that, whatever his fate, the President is in grave danger and he is the only person left who can figure out where the threat is coming from.
What is your understanding of Mike Banning?
It was not an easy task (playing this character). I felt like it was really time for people to get to know more of Banning, and who he is. Mike might be a trained killer, but there’s always been an ‘everyman’ aspect to him. We also get to know a lot more about his internal struggles with his father, his wife and his own future. It makes the stakes of the action that much higher because we’re so inside his world.
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What do you have to say about working with the director Ric Roman Waugh?
Ric’s intelligence and psychological approach to the story was phenomenal. Also, he’s been a stunt man and a cameraman, but he also knows special effects and design, and he brings high enthusiasm for it all.
The best part about Ric is that he pushes everyone around him, because he never stops being excited about what he’s doing. We made an interesting team because he brought so much fresh perspective from his experiences, while I was always thinking about those elements of the franchise that I know fans really love.
How was it working with Piper Perabo?
I love how Piper so deeply respected and brought out the sacrifices the spouse of an agent has to go through. She encapsulated the strength, the humour, and the support but also the worry and the tensions.