Gerard Butler reveals actors were injured 'every day' on 300 set
Gerard Butler has revealed men were rushed to hospital "every day" on the set of '300'.
Gerard Butler has revealed actors were getting injured "every day" on the set of '300'.
The 55-year-old actor led Zack Snyder's 2006 historical action epic playing the part of Leonidas, King of Sparta, and has revealed several cast members were rushed to hospital, with one guy terrifyingly being hit in the eye with a spear.
Speaking to his 'Den of Thieves 2: Pantera' co-star O'Shea Jackson Jr. for an instalment of PEOPLE's 'Comparing Notes' series, he recalled: "I remember every day somebody was getting taken to the hospital.
"You'd be doing a fight, you turn around, there's a guy down there, a spear went in his eye. Another time, you turn around, there's a guy over there who just fell, broke his ankle. I mean, it was insane."
Elsewhere, the 'P.S. I Love You' star claimed he "almost drowned" filming 2012's 'Chasing Mavericks' after "getting taken down by a huge set of waves".
He remembered: "I thought I was done. They had to take me out, take me to hospital, put me out, give me the defibrillator. I mean, it was intense."
Butler also recalled his car smash stunt with former James Bond Pierce Brosnan for the 2007 thriller 'Butterfly on a Wheel' - which "destroyed" his neck.
He continued: "And this thing was supposed to stop as he was supposed to slam the brakes.
"We hit a wall on a rooftop, three-foot-high wall, full speed, in a Range Rover. It destroyed my neck, and it was after 300. I was already so beaten up in 300."
His injuries don't stop there, with the Hollywood star also battling hypothermia filing in the Icelandic Sea and heat exhaustion in Montreal during his career.
He went on: "And I spent a day filming in the Icelandic Sea, got basically hypothermia there, overheat(ed) once in Montreal doing a movie.
"They put wetsuits on us, but then we had to put our whole costume on, and it was 110 degrees. And we were in that all day ... and we're still having to perform so many things."
He also recalled his 'P.S. I Love' you co-star Hilary Swank being let with a scar on her head, while he "almost shot" his 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life' co-star Angelina Jolie.
He added: "I've scarred Hilary Swank on the head ... she has a scar. Almost shot Angelina Jolie in the face. I was coming down, hanging upside down. I had to fire a gun, but I had no control over where this thing went. So I was just firing and I just missed it.
"I've been shot by bullets, casings, explosions. A whole camera rig once fell down on Hilary Swank and I."
Despite taking a few knocks over the years, Butler loves filming death-defying stunts.
He concluded: "It's awesome. I wouldn't change it for the world."