Hollywood star Gerard Butler’s acting career has been characterized by a diverse range of roles across film and television. Starting with small roles, he gained recognition with projects like Attila and Dracula 2000 before taking on the role of King Leonidas in 300, which has also been attributed as his breakthrough role.
He has since navigated between action-packed roles and more complex character portrayals, including ventures into voice acting. However, despite his extensive and successful career, the actor had concerns about the sequel to his beloved animated film How to Train Your Dragon.
Gerard Butler Was Concerned About How to Train Your Dragon Sequel
The 2010 animated fantasy film How to Train Your Dragon features Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, the Viking chief and father of the film’s protagonist Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel. The film was a huge success and even earned two Oscar nominations, including for Best Animated Feature.
Its success has since prompted the creation of a media franchise followed by two sequels and an upcoming live-action reboot. However, when it initially came down to a sequel, Butler was not quite sure about it.
In an interview with Collider, the 300 actor shared that he was amazed by the first film, calling it one of his all-time favorites. “I just was so blown away with it,” he said before expressing his concerns about a sequel.
And then, because I’m a worrier, I just worried, once we were making the second, about how it was possibly going to live up to that.
Butler shared that with the phenomenal success of the original film, he had reservations that the sequel would be able to live up to the expectations. But he was eventually proved wrong, as he later admitted that the sequel is even better than the original movie.
Gerard Butler Applauded How to Train Your Dragon 2 For Exceeding Expectations
While initially, he was uncertain about it, the actor later praised the sequel, released in 2014, and admitted that it surpassed the original in numerous aspects. “I think the second one is even better. It pushes the limits and stakes, in so many ways,” he said. He further stated,
The animation has come along so much, and they’ve made absolute beautiful use of that to make this visually exhilarating ride that you go on, and yet never shied away from bringing up darker issues and keeping it really exciting and emotional.
The actor shared that he had the opportunity to enjoy the movie with audiences, describing it as a profound experience. “I’m very proud to be a part of it,” he expressed gratefully. He has since reprised his role in a third installment.
He will also be returning as Stoick the Vast in the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon, directed by Dean DeBlois, which is set to be released on June 13, 2025.
How to Train Your Dragon film series is available to stream on Prime Video.
