What Sold Gerard Butler on Reprising His Role in the Live-Action ‘How to Train Your Dragon’

by

15 years following the initial release of “How to Train Your Dragon“, the live-action version made its premiere in Los Angeles over the weekend, with Gerard Butler and director Dean DeBlois still leading the series.

Known for portraying Viking leader Stoick the Vast in all three animated movies, Butler reprises his role for the live-action adaptation. When initially informed about this project, he humorously expressed skepticism, saying, “I thought, ‘You’re all mad! This is going to be awful.’

However, he had some queries, and DeBlois suggested he should visit Belfast for a day to witness their construction, preview the dragons’ designs, and understand the world they were creating. When he did so, he admitted that everything became clear to him. “Initially, I grasped the concept, but I wanted to play coy,” he humorously shared with The Hollywood Reporter during the premiere.

In regards to portraying the same character once more within a similar narrative, Butler mentioned, “Occasionally, when I watch myself, I find instances where I think, ‘That’s remarkably like how I did it before,’ but there are also moments that take a completely different turn. What I aimed for was to bring something fresh, entering the story as a new chapter and finding myself embodying it throughout the day — this is something I didn’t get to do when I was merely providing the voice. Each day, I wore my pajamas instead.

As a die-hard fan, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of anxiety when I heard that our beloved star might not make it back for the movie. Director DeBlois shared the harrowing details, explaining that our actor was initially tied up with back-to-back projects during the intended filming window. The prospect of having to replace him felt disheartening, but then fate stepped in. An actors’ strike occurred, causing a ripple effect on production schedules that ultimately cleared the path for our movie to be made. When Gerry finally joined us, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief and optimism, like everything was going to fall into place now.

DeBlois’ debut in live-action filmmaking is with “The Adaptation”, following his work as writer and director for the three animated “How to Train Your Dragon” series. He admitted that he had been vocal about disliking this trend, but appreciated that Universal was willing to take a chance on an animator like him who directed an animated movie. In other words, although he didn’t initially favor live-action films over the painstaking work put into animation, he recognized and valued Universal’s interest in him for this live-action project.

He went on saying, “Regardless of whether it’s good or bad, it possesses a consistent quality. I pledged to the studio that despite having no prior experience with live-action films, I would strive my best to capture the magic and emotion of those initial tales on screen.” DeBlois further mentioned that there were a couple of crucial scenes where they precisely replicated the originals, especially focusing on Mason Thames’ Hiccup and his dragon Toothless. However, they also had the freedom to be more innovative in other parts of the movie.

One significant alteration made was developing Astrid’s character more deeply. Director DeBlois stated he believed “she was somewhat overlooked in the initial animated film.” Nico Parker takes on this role, who was previously voiced by America Ferrera in the animated series – the two actresses haven’t discussed the adaptation yet, but Parker expressed, “I hope she sees and likes it because she’s so wonderful.

When asked about her response to hearing a live-action film adaptation was in the works, Parker shared, “I usually keep my friends in the dark when I’m auditioning, as there’s always that awkward moment if I don’t get the part and they see it somewhere public, making light of the situation and reminding me of the disappointment. But this time, it was such a legendary film, one I’ve always adored, and my friends are just as enthusiastic about it. Since they’re die-hard fans too, I couldn’t resist telling them, ‘Guess what I’m auditioning for?’ Even if I didn’t get the role, I knew I’d still be there on opening day.

She added, “The fact that we’re here and actually I’m in it is so surreal.”

How to Train Your Dragon hits theaters on Friday.

Read More

2025-06-08 04:24