Gerald Butler endured genuine agony while shooting his latest cinematic venture. The 55-year-old actor, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly released on Thursday, January 9th, disclosed that he filmed "Den of Thieves 2: Pantera" amidst his recovery from a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). This forthcoming action-crime thriller, penned and directed by Christian Gudegast, finds Butler reprising his character as Nicholas "Big Nick" O'Brien from the 2018 film. The synopsis unravels a tale where the sheriff relentlessly pursues O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s Donnie Wilson across Europe to thwart a daring diamond heist.
Butler, who starred in the epic "300," revealed to EW that shooting the intense sequel was an arduous task, as he had undergone surgery prior to suffering his knee injury. "It was an odd period for me at the outset of this movie; I had endured a rigorous surgery, and roughly a month later, I fully tore my ACL, only then embarking on this film," Butler lamented. He further elaborated, "I wasn't in peak physical condition, and this was a highly physically demanding movie. I hadn't had the opportunity to get surgery for my ACL, so I filmed this movie with a freshly torn ACL, and it was incredibly tough."
Unfortunately, there was no silver lining to thiscloudy saga. "I wanted to insert a 'but' to infuse some positivity, but it was anything but positive; it was a waking nightmare!" he exclaimed. According to the Cleveland Clinic, ACL tears are commonplace and generally take between six to nine months to heal.
Butler's career has been marked by numerous injuries. In January 2023, he recounted on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" how he accidentally exposed his eyes, nose, and throat to phosphoric acid while portraying a pilot in the film "Plane." The incident occurred during a scene where he was "trying to diagnose an issue with the plane before our final takeoff sequence."
"I was sticking my hand between these two wheels, faux-confidently pretending I knew what I was doing," Butler explained. "Every time I withdrew my hands, they were smeared with blood and a greenish fluid, and I thought, 'I'm not sure what this green stuff is.'" He added that the intense heat in Puerto Rico, where they were filming, left him "drenched in sweat."
"As I rubbed my face, suddenly, it seeped into my throat, mouth, nose, and eyes," Butler continued. "It was scorching my face—literally burning. It was later revealed to be phosphoric acid."
In 2017, he openly admitted to being hospitalized three times in that year alone.
"Den of Thieves 2: Pantera" hit theaters on January 10th.
