Scottish actor Gerard Butler was almost fairly close to becoming something other than what he is known for today. He attended the University of Glasgow School of Law, where he succeeded academically, but after the death of his estranged father, he spent some time in California. After returning to his native country, pursuing a career in law, and getting fired from his job, he decided it was time to try acting. He did not land a single role until the age of 27, and, in 2003, he was cast in The Phantom of the Opera (via Slash Film). Ever since then, his career has continued to climb with each new role.
While many people may know Butler best for his acting roles, especially in movies like 300 and How to Train Your Dragon, he has also pursued producing films. Several of the movies Butler has starred in were, in fact, produced by the actor himself. His first movie was Wrath of the Gods in 2006, then Law Abiding Citizen. In the 2010s, he began to take on this role and create content. The upcoming 2023 movie Plane was also produced by Butler, who will star in the leading role. That said, these are the best movies he has produced so far.
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6 Last Seen Alive
Voltage Pictures
Butler stars in 2022’s Last Seen Alive, which he also produced. The action thriller, which was directed by Brian Goodman, focuses on a husband whose wife disappears when they stop for gas. He reports her missing to the police and her parents, but as he gets deeper into the investigation, he realizes something strange is afoot. As the story winds itself tighter, the husband, Will, is also revealed to have had a strained relationship with his wife in the past, ultimately making him one of the suspects. Last Seen Alive was considered a flop by the critics, getting remarkably low reviews.
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5 Law Abiding Citizen
Released in 2009, the vigilante film Law Abiding Citizen was a massive success at the box office and received multiple award nominations despite drawing negative commentary from the critics. In Philadelphia, a family’s house is broken into, and a devastated engineer is forced to watch as the intruders kill his wife and daughter right in front of him. The police investigation is unable to properly convict the killer, which leaves the grieving father enraged. He decides to take his ultimate revenge, even if it means turning his back on the law.
4 Greenland
STXfilms
Greenland stars Butler, Scott Glenn, David Denman, and Hope Davis in a disaster film where all life on Earth is being threatened by an incoming comet. A sequel is said to be in the works, per Collider, but it is unknown when that will be released. A family of four in Atlanta spectates as the Earth’s citizens realize a passing comet is a threat to humanity, and when they are selected for an emergency shelter procedure, a fragment breaks off and decimates the state of Florida. As the situation becomes direr, the family tries to get on an evacuation flight, but things do not go as planned, raising the stakes even higher as all hope seems to be lost.
3 Copshop
Sculptor Media
A nod to 70s thrillers and pulp fiction, Copshop does not reinvent the wheel, but it is a great time. Butler, Frank Grillo, and Alexis Louder play three characters who find themselves meeting in the middle of a small town in the Midwest. One is a conman, another a police officer, and the final person a hitman. When the conman and hitman end up in jail cells, a second hitman enters the scene, and chaos ensues as everyone is now pitted against each other.
2 Angel Has Fallen
Photo Credit - Millennium Media, G-BASE
Angel Has Fallen is the third entry in what has become known as the Has Fallen franchise and series. This edition was released in 2019, with three more movies in the series rumored to be coming after it. Butler stars in the series as a United States Secret Service Agent named Mike Banning, who, after the events of the first two movies in the series, has been recommended for a promotion. However, when he is protecting the President of the United States on a fishing trip, drones attack the party, leaving only Banning alive and the President in a coma. Now considered to be the prime suspect behind the attack, Banning must now survive as a wanted man.
1 Olympus Has Fallen
Photo Credit - Millennium Films, G-BASE
The original movie in the Has Fallen series, Olympus Has Fallen established the beloved characters fans would come to love throughout the films. It introduces Mike Banning, who is merely a Secret Service Agent and relatively unknown at this point. He helps protect the current President in this movie, but after a car accident that kills the First Lady, he is moved to the Treasury Department. When the South Korean Prime Minister visits the White House, a North Korean group attacks and executes him, leading Banning to join the efforts to defuse the situation at hand as it gets more violent.
