Gerard Butler Interview: Angel Has Fallen
We interview Angel Has Fallen star Gerard Butler about his approach to his role in the action sequel and Mike Banning’s various father figures.
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Angel Has Fallen, which marks the third installment in the Fallen film franchise, shows a new side of hero Mike Banning (Gerard Butler). The Secret Service agent must not only contend with the wrath of the country, but with his own inner demons as well. Butler spoke with Screen Rant about kinship he felt with his character’s struggles and the depth of his onscreen relationships.
Gerard, Mike has gone from public hero to public menace. How did you approach this, psychologically? Because he’s in a different headspace this time around.
Gerard Butler: Well, weirdly, I was in a different headspace this time around. When I came into this movie, I’ve been in better places in my life. I’d had a couple of injuries and accidents, so I came in really understanding what it was [that] him trying to get through the job was me trying to get through the movie.
Interesting.
Gerard Butler: Yeah, it was interesting. And then, you know, a lot of time you’ve got to use sense memory. You imagine you’re hurting, so you go, “What am I feeling? Am I feeling, like, a heavy suit on top of me or a knife sticking in?” And I’m like, “I don’t need to do any of that. It’s all there.”
But, yeah, it was it was a fun challenge to deepen this character in and kind of go, “Wait, Mike’s on painkillers? Mike’s hiding this from his family? Mike’s going to see the doctor in private? Mike’s not telling his bosses that he’s struggling with work?” And then it’s all blown out of proportion and used against him. And we’re on. We’re on.
It’s interesting, too, because this is another layer. We have two different layers of Mike that we haven’t seen before. One: we get to see his family life. But the other one, we get to see layers of PTSD that he might be kind of suffering from. Can you talk to me about any research you may have done into that a little bit?
Gerard Butler: Well, yeah. We spoke a lot with ex-Navy SEALs. A couple, in particular, who Rick had made a documentary with. [We] sat with them a long time, going through what they’ve experienced, what it’s like coming out of that, what it’s like trying to live in the real world. Very, very interesting and very sad. You know, what a challenge. I get it as an actor, when I finish a movie. You’re all on, and then you stop and go, “Where am I?” And that’s 1% of what – half a percent of what – these guys go through in real life.
But I like this idea. It’s PTSD, but it’s also almost like LTSD, where it’s like a lack of traumatic stress. They’re on so much when they’re on, coming back to real life, they missed the stress. They need that adrenaline. It’s like everything feels dead after that. And I think that’s what Mike’s dealing with, that’s what the villain is dealing with. He wants to be back in the field, to be in the game. So, it was kind of powerful theme to introduce.
Now, Mike also has almost two dads in this film – two father figures in this film, one played by Nick Nolte, the other one by Morgan Freeman. Can you talk to me about Mike having those two father figures?
Gerard Butler: It was lovely. I mean, it’s weird, because in the first two movies, I actually only have one scene where I’m in the same room Morgan Freeman. And yet, you get that relationship. It’s one of the most touching relationships, just because of the moments that we’ve had, even when we were at a distance from each other.
So, coming into this movie, you already have this whole background and this history. But we hadn’t spent much time together, and now we are and you can see we’ve become really good friends and he gets me and he calls me on my bullshit. And he also tells me what’s going on with him. I’m one of the few guys he can really speak to. And it’s beautiful; he sees me so much more than I could ever imagine.
And that’s where we see Mike’s humanity, too.
Gerard Butler: Exactly. And also makes [for] imperfection and vulnerability, the fact that he’s letting down the man who he really loves and who he’s sworn to protect. And that’s also going on with his family too. This is this is definitely a more blemished Mike, which makes the whole journey more interesting.
Then there’s his real father, you know. And that’s so touching, when you realize that heartache that he’s always had. Then you get to know his father and you go, “I get that too. I get where he’s coming from.” It’s, again, what war does to people. His father didn’t want to be that guy, he didn’t want to abandon him, but it took a lot out of him.
But also, that relationship with Nick Nolte is so much fun.
It is, onscreen.
Gerard Butler: Yeah, I walked into a screening the other day in the middle of that hillside action sequence. I haven’t heard an audience screaming like that and laughing like that in a long time.
So much fun. So much action. I loved it, top to bottom. I love it a lot, man. Thank you very much.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/gerard-butler-angel-fallen-movie-interview/