Gerard Butler, the 55-year-old actor known for his action roles, revealed he endured significant pain while filming “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.” In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Butler disclosed that he filmed the action-packed sequel while recovering from a torn ACL.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera,” written and directed by Christian Gudegast, features Butler reprising his role as Sheriff Nicholas “Big Nick” O’Brien. The film follows O’Brien’s pursuit of Donnie Wilson (played by O’Shea Jackson Jr.) across Europe to thwart a diamond heist.
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Butler underwent intense surgery before suffering the ACL tear, making filming the physically demanding sequel incredibly challenging. He explained to EW, “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.” He 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.” The experience was far from ideal, with Butler admitting, “But yeah… I wanted to put a ‘but’ in to make it sound positive, but it wasn’t positive; it was a nightmare!”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, ACL tears typically require six to nine months of recovery time.
This isn’t Butler’s first on-set injury. In January 2023, he shared on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” that he accidentally burned his eyes, nose, and throat with phosphoric acid while filming a scene for the movie “Plane.” The incident occurred while he was portraying a pilot attempting to troubleshoot a mechanical issue. He described rubbing his sweat-covered face, unknowingly spreading the corrosive acid. “Suddenly, it’s in my throat. It’s in my mouth. It’s up my nose. It’s in my eyes,” Butler recounted. “It’s burning my face — and I mean burning… It turns out that this is essentially phosphoric acid.”
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In 2017, Butler revealed he had been hospitalized three times that year alone for various injuries. Despite these setbacks, Butler continues to take on demanding roles. “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” was released in theaters on January 10th.
