Scottish actor Gerard Butler brought a bit of Hollywood to Glasgow on Sunday night with the premiere of his latest film Law Abiding Citizen.
Hundreds lined the streets outside the Cineworld complex to catch a glimpse of the former Glasgow University student as he posed on the red carpet before a screening of the film. He even incurred the wrath of the local constabulary, running out onto a gridlocked Renfrew Street to greet fans penned in on the other side as cars and buses waited at the traffic lights.
“It’s been extra special for me,” Butler told STV. “I was very shocked. It hit me; it was like a big wave when I got out of the car. It was a lot of noise.
“The last premiere I did here was for Dear Frankie and that was in Edinburgh. So to be able to come home… you can’t ask for more than that.
“This is still the city I remember roaming about when I was a little boy. Even my buddies were in the crowd and they are all looking at me. Some of them I studied law with or went to high school with and they’ve never seen this. It’s nice.”
In Law Abiding Citizen, Butler plays Clyde Shelton, who embarks on revenge after the murder of his wife and daughter. The lines of sympathy are challenged as the movie goes on, with each viewer likely to have a point up to which they feel sorry for the character before he goes too far.
“Sometimes we go along this formulaic route where you go ‘ok, this is the good guy, this is the bad guy’,” explains Butler. “I don’t think we have your typical definitions of what a hero is and what a villain is in this movie. My character does some pretty scary and horrific things.”
For Butler, Law Abiding Citizen also marks his debut as a producer. Combining the role of overseeing the film as well as starring in it, he admits a lot of hard work had to go into making it a success. But for all his toil, Butler is pleased with the results.
“It was very intense,” he said. “It was amazing as well to have so much input, not only as an actor but also as a producer.
“There was a lot of pressure trying to do both. I was working on it for two years before we even came to start filming. That made it all the more delicious to see it all come together.”
Speaking of delicious, Butler also had a chance to sample a taste of home whilst appearing on American TV in October. Honouring the delicacies of his homeland, he was treated to a deep fried mars bar by Bonnie Hunt and left the studio with the leftovers.
“It was cool. It’s so funny, whenever you celebrate something completely Scottish, you feel very proud. Even though it was a bit of fried mars bar.
“I had actually never had one before. It was so tasty. In fact, I asked for a second one and I ended up being so sick. But it was fun.”
You can see footage of Gerard Butler's arrival at the premiere by clicking here.
