The 2007 release of 300 became one of the surprise hit movies of the year because of director Zack Snyder’s stunning visuals and Gerard Butler’s chiselled body. Now Butler is reflecting on how hard he hard to work for that 300 body and what it did to him.
“In some ways, I was ruining my body. But I was looking amazing doing it,” Butler recently told The Hollywood Reporter; looking back on the shape he had to get into to pay the lead role of Leonidas, the King of Sparta.
He told the trade that he worked out six hours a day to prepare for the ad-ripped role. That included two hours of CrossFit training, two hours of bodybuilding, and two hours of fight training.
Interest in 300 has risen recently thanks to the release of Snyder’s 4-hour epic cut of Justice League on
HBO Max. Long before Snyder began making DC Comics movies for Warner Bros., he convinced the studio to make a stylish swords and sandals epic based on the 1998 Frank Miller graphic novel series.
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The movie would become a surprise hit for the studio, taking in over $456 million at the worldwide box office. But Butler admits while making 300 he wasn’t sure it would be any good.
“There were times you would walk around in your red cape and little leather underpants and someone would point at nothing and say, ‘Look! A burning village!'” recalled Butler working on the set that was made up of green screen that would turn into epic battle scenes by CGI animators in post-production.
“And I remember going, ‘Oh my God. This movie’s going to suck,'” he said.
However, the movie turned out to be a huge success; boasting an audience score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and making Butler an international star.
