Gerard ButlerSpeaker and Booking Agent Information

In the meantime Butler grew up in his mother's hometown of Paisley where he frequented a nearby movie theater. Enamored with acting he convinced his mother to take him to auditions eventually joining the Scottish Youth Theatre and playing a street urchin in Oliver! at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow.

An exceptional student Butler graduated at the top of his class. Hoping to please his family and his teachers who felt acting was an unrealistic career choice Butler enrolled in Glasgow University's law program.

He served as the president of the school's law society and earned an honor's degree.After finishing college Butler took a year and a half off to live in Los Angeles where he appeared as an extra in the Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston vehicle (1992). He then traveled to Canada to be at his father's bedside as he succumbed to cancer.

Shortly after his father's death Butler returned to Scotland to begin a two-year law traineeship in Edinburgh at one of the country's top firms. But he was bored and discontented as a lawyer and still dreamed about performing. He went to see on-stage at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh and knew he had made the wrong career choice.

Soon enough Butler's unhappiness began to show in his work and his firm fired him with only a week left in his training. Two days later at age 25 he moved to London to begin his acting career.

Butler took on a series of odd jobs -- from waiting tables to demonstrating clockwork toys at a trade show -- while looking for work as an actor.

He was supposed to be serving as a casting assistant for the play at the Mermaid Theatre when he ran into the show's director actor Steven Berkoff at a coffee bar and asked to read for a part. Impressed with the ex-barrister's moxie Berkoff agreed and Butler secured his first professional acting role.

While rehearsing for he accompanied one of the other actors to an audition for the same stage adaptation of he had seen in Edinburgh and landed the lead part of Mark Renton.