Gerald Butler Was Recovering From a Torn ACL While Filming Den of Thieves 2: ‘I Was Not in the Best Shape’

erard Butler is seen at Univision’s “Despierta America” morning show to promote the movie “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” on Dec. 16, 2024 in Doral, Florida. Photo:

Getty

Gerald Butler was in real pain while filming his latest movie. 

The actor, 55, revealed in an Entertainment Weekly interview published on Thursday, Jan. 9 that he filmed Den of Thieves 2: Pantera while recovering from a torn ACL. 

The upcoming action crime drama, written and directed by Christian Gudegast, sees Butler reprising his role as Nicholas “Big Nick” O’Brien from the 2018 movie. In it, the sheriff chases O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Donnie Wilson through Europe to stop a diamond heist, according to the synopsis. 

Gerard Butler as ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien in ‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’. Rico Torres for Lionsgate

The 300 star told EW that filming the intense sequel was challenging as he had just gone through surgery before his knee injury. 

“This was a weird time for me at the beginning of this movie because I’d been through a pretty intense surgery, and then I tore my ACL fully about a month later and then started this movie,” Butler said.

The actor continued, “So I was not in the best shape, and it was a pretty physical movie, and I didn’t have a chance to get the surgery on my ACL, so I made this movie with a freshly torn ACL, and it was pretty rough.”

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a silver lining to the incident.

“But yeah… I wanted to put a ‘but’ in to make it sound positive, but it wasn’t positive; it was a nightmare!” he said.

According to Cleveland Clinic, ACL tears are common and typically take between six to nine months to heal.

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Butler has experienced several injuries throughout his life and career. In January 2023, he shared on Late Night with Seth Meyers that he accidentally burned his eyes, nose and throat with phosphoric acid while playing a pilot in the movie Plane

The actor said his injury occurred during a scene in which he was “trying to find something that’s wrong with the plane before we can take off for this final sequence.”

“Now I’m sticking my hand between these two wheels, kind of pretending that I know what I’m doing,” Butler explained. “Every time I bring my hands out, they’re covered in blood and green fluid, right? And I’m like, ‘I don’t know what this green fluid is.’ “

He added that he was “covered in sweat” from the heat in Puerto Rico, where they were filming. 

“I’m rubbing my face and, suddenly, it’s in my throat. It’s in my mouth. It’s up my nose. It’s in my eyes,” Butler continued. “It’s burning my face — and I mean burning… It turns out that this is essentially phosphoric acid.”

In 2017, he admitted he had been hospitalized three times that year alone.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is out in theaters on Jan. 10.

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