Gerard Butler reveals why filming upcoming sequel Den Of Thieves 2 was a 'nightmare'

Gerard Butler revealed the reason why shooting the upcoming action thriller, Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera, was a 'nightmare.'

The Scottish actor, 55 - who looks unrecognizable in the anticipated live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon - opened up about an injury he suffered shortly before filming began for the sequel.

The movie - which also stars O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Evin Ahmad - is slated to hit theaters later this week on Friday, January 10.

While recently talking to Entertainment Weekly, '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 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.' 

'I wanted to put a "but" in to make it sound positive, but it wasn't positive. It was a nightmare!' Gerard expressed, before humorously adding, 'And I was a whiny little b***h!'

His fellow castmate, O'Shea Jackson Jr., also joined in on the interview and shared, 'Oh my God, there were so many stairs in that movie too!' 

Butler agreed and stated, 'There were many stairs. I'm like, "Really, we have to set this whole movie on a hill?" So it was intense, but it definitely made the action scenes…I had to do less acting.'

And during an interview with Extra this month, both Gerard and O'Shea further reflected on a specific heist scene for the sequel which was shot in the Canary Islands. 

'You could not breathe…my heart was racing…it was as if we were really doing the heist,' Butler revealed to the outlet. 

'We didn't have a lot of time and we had to move fast and we also wanted to make sure we got as much as possible so we moved and it was day after day, soaking wet.'

In regards to if the pair had stunt doubles to jump in front of the camera for some scenes, Jackson Jr. stated that director Christian Gudegast 'likes to have you feel for your character.' 

'The same way that like it's written and he likes shots up in your face so we got to be out really out there…'

'That style also allows audiences to feel the intensity, you know, by not having any breath while you're watching that and that adds to the suspense because you can see the agony in the eyes.' 

Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera was written and directed by Christian Gudegast and takes place following the events in the first film - which was released in 2018. 

The premise is: 'Big Nick (Butler) is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson Jr.), who is embroiled in the treacherous world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world's largest diamond exchange,' per IMDB.  

The original Den Of Thieves dropped in theaters seven years earlier, and raked in around $80.5 million in the box office on a budget of $30 million. 

While also discussing the sequel with Extra, Gerard opened up about his 'unforgettable' character in the movie.

'Big Nick's a fun character,' The Phantom Of The Opera actor expressed. 'I feel like, he's kind of an unforgettable character.'

O'Shea also added that he enjoyed getting 'the band back together' for the sequel and explained, 'This is my first sequel of my career and it's very special to me.'

Butler has a busy year ahead of him, and also took on a big role in the live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon. 

The original animated film was released in 2010 - and its success created two sequels: How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). 

Stars such as Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig voiced characters throughout the movies. 

Butler voiced the character of Stoick the Vast, and has notably reprised the role in the live-action film. 

The upcoming project - which was written and directed by Dean DeBlois -  is set to hit theaters later this year on June 13, 2025. 

During his interview with Extra, Gerard briefly talked about the movie and shared, 'There's something about that story…I'm very excited to be able to play Stoick on the big screen.' 

To portray Stoick the Vast, the actor also had to don a costume that weighed a whopping 93lbs for hours each day during production. 

'I had that on from 7 am till 7 at night…that was intense because you're not just standing around…' 

'It's always weighing down on you and then you got to be running around, fighting, performing… even the eyebrows that I wore in that were heavier than everything I'm wearing today.' 

Scenes for the live-action remake were shot in Northern Ireland in the cold months of December and January. However, Butler admitted to Collider that he was able to stay warm due to his costume.

'Yes, it was very cold and kind of miserable because we went at the worst time. It was December, or really starting in January,' he recalled. 

Gerard later added of his costume, 'I had seven layers, thick layers, and a thick beard, and then I had a kind of bearskin or wolfskin over it. It was heavy as s**t.' 

'When I had my sword and my shield and the helmet, which was heavy, and all those layers with the clasps that went around, it was 90 pounds, my costume.'

'I was, in the middle of the coldest day, soaking wet from sweat inside because it was like a furnace in there,' he added.