With “Geostorm” and “Greenland”, Gerard Butler imposes himself as a professional of the apocalypse in cinema. Before the filming of Ric Roman Waugh’s film, the actor was deeply marked by a very real disaster.
Greenland : Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin at the end of the world
After saving the world from climate catastrophe in geostormGerard Butler tries to escape the apocalypse again in Greenland – The Last Refuge. A feature film by Ric Roman Waugh (Infiltrator, The Fall of the President) and released in 2020, in which the comedian can’t do much this time to prevent disaster.
The actor lends his features to John Garrity. This building engineer has just separated from his partner Allison (Morena Baccarin). They are however together when they learn that Fragments of Comet Clarke crash into the four corners of the globe. The impacts could cause mass extinction of the human species. With their son Nathan (Roger Dale Floyd), they try to join the planes of the authorities supposed to take survivors to a refuge to which they have a right of access, unlike most of their relatives.
Scott Glenn completes the cast of this film which connects scenes of chaos and effectively transcribes the feeling of general panic. A feature film shot while Gerard Butler truly experienced a natural disaster a few months earlier.
A house ravaged by fire
In November 2018, the star of 300 and The White House fall shares a chilling photo. In this picture, we can see him in front of the foundations of his Malibu home, reduced to ashes by the Woolsey fire. The actor then writes on Instagram:
I returned home to Malibu after being evacuated. It’s a terrible time for California. I was inspired as always by the courage, spirit and sacrifice of the fire fighters. Thanks to the Los Angeles Fire Department. If you can, support these brave men and women by clicking the link in my bio.
The actor also films his neighborhood ravaged by flames, “upset”. A year later, Gerard Butler looks back on this event which marked him deeply. Asked by Extra on the reconstruction of his property just after wrapping the filming of Greenlandthe actor assures that it has not yet started, explaining:
It takes its time. It is a very sad and moving experience to walk to your house and see it burning. (…) I lost part of it, and all the ground also disappeared. We say to ourselves “Okay, we’re going to rebuild”, but it takes so long to obtain the authorizations because of the toxicity.
During the promotion of Greenland, the actor makes the link between the urgency that emerges from the film and the fires that consume California each year, but also with the Covid-19 pandemic. In an interview given to Yahoo!he assures :
Viewers can really relate to what’s happening to the characters, because we’re all going through it.
Declaring thatsuch a natural disaster is “not so unthinkable” than that in the present day, Gerard Butler adds:
It can be something tiny or huge. Right now…half of California is burnt to ashes. You never know what will follow. We live in a world where it is now part of everyday life.
And the actor knows what he’s talking about.
