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Gerard Butler’s Leonidas led an army of 300 soldiers to face off against the 300,000 soldiers of the Persian God-King Xerxes in Zack Snyder’s300. The David and Goliath story required actors to get ripped and look perfect in their half-naked attires. However, Warner Bros. exec Alan Horn wasn’t exactly convinced with Butler for the role after working with him onThe Phantom of the Opera.
However, when Butler came to convince him, Horn decided to give him the role as per Snyder’s wish upon one condition. He knew from their earlier collaboration that Butler was a heavy smoker and he wanted the actor to quit smoking to land the part.
Gerard Butler Struck A Deal To Quit Smoking In Order To Land The300Role
WhenZack Snyderdecided to adapt Frank Miller’s historically inaccurate comic book tale of the Battle of Thermopylae, he had eyedGerard Butlerfor the lead role. It was one of the things that Snyder had to push for with Warner Bros. TheMan of Steeldirector initially took some effort to change WB exec Alan Horn’s mind about making the film.
Horn was not a fan of another war film at the time when historical films likeTroyandAlexanderwere disasters in the theaters.Snyder convinced himabout his different take on the genre. However, Horn was still not sold on Snyder’s idea of casting Butler in300. During an interview with THR, Horn shared that he just did not see Leonidas in Butler at the time.
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However, he soon got a call from Butler asking for a meeting. Horn shared that when Butler arrived he was“physically imposing”from the last time that he saw him. Horn was not going to give it away easily toThe Ugly Truthactor and shared that Butler had to fulfill one condition to land the role.
Horn said to him that he had to quit smoking, which Butler initially thought was a joke. But when he understood that Horn was serious, he gave his word to the WB exec. Alan Horn shared withThe Hollywood Reporter:
A few days later, I get a call from this Gerard Butler. He says, ‘Can I come and see ya?’ […] So he comes to see me, and he’s really physically imposing. I knew from ‘Phantom’ that he smoked, and I thought I smelled it on him.So I said, ‘Okay, you can have the part on one condition: You have got to stop smoking.’ He said, ‘Are you serious?’ I said: ‘Yes. Give me your word, and it’s yours.’ And he said, ‘I give you my word.’
Horn did not reveal the intention behind the condition that he set. It could have been his thought that his movie stars needed to be role models. Or Horn just wanted his hero to maintain great health for the physically demanding role. Butler, who had openlyrevealedhis issues with smoking, was cigarette-free for the entire shoot of300.
Gerard Butler Underwent A God-Like Transformation For300
Gerard Butler initially enlisted the help of Mark Twight, a mountain climber and gym trainer, to help with his workout. Twight designed an intense routine for theLaw Abiding Citizenactor. The training regime focused on Olympic lifts, functional training, and metabolic body movements for six hours per day, five to six days a week (via Men’s Health).
In his daily six hours, Butler dedicated two hours to CrossFit-style training, another two hours to bodybuilding, and concluded with fight choreography for two hours. Twight also designed the“300-rep Spartan workout”, which included 25 pullups, 50 deadlifts (135 lb), 50 pushups, 50 jumps on a 24-inch box, 50 floor-wipers, 50 clean-and-presses (36 lb), and 25 more pullups.
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to accelerate his training, he also hired Venezuelan bodybuilder, Franco LiCastro, just five weeks prior to filming.Butler literally went through hellsatisfying the physical demand for his role. It paid off massively as the actor was unrecognizable when the film hit the theaters. According toBox Office Mojo, the film raked in $456 million against a budget of $65 million.
300and its sequel are now available for streaming on Max.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3019
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
