Q: Which sort of was the case with The Phantom of the
Opera.
BUTLER: It's the same with The Phantom [of
the Opera]. Joel [Schumacher] said to me straightaway, "You're my guy. I
want you to be my phantom." But it still didn't happen for quite a long while
because there was still budgetary issues, casting issues for other parts. So,
it's not an easy time in you're life when it's a part you really want to do,
literally, every time.
Q: For Tomb Raider you were pretty persistent about it.
BUTLER: I'll tell you, it was very funny actually, I remember my manager
calling me. Literally, the conversations were, I would call him or he would call
me, and I would say, "Have you heard anything about Tomb Raider"
because there would always be gossip, you know. I'd been asking this
so much, and there was one day he said, "Yeah, I heard this..." And about
two minutes later he said, "I've got to take this call." So he hung up on me and
called me back twenty seconds later. And I said, "Have you heard anything about
Tomb Raider?" (he laughs). It was a joke.
Q: Concerning The Phantom, and no doubt this is a question they asked
you: have you done musical work before?
BUTLER: Yeah, (he laughs) when I was twelve I was in Oliver! at a
theater in Glasgow. Actually, I sang in a rock band when I was training as a
lawyer. You know, not professional, we just did it for fun. We just did gigs all
over Edinburgh and some in Glasgow and some at festivals. But... never have I
sang anything like this.
Q: Being an attorney, does that make seeing or negotiating your contracts any
easier?
BUTLER: I don't even read them. Or not really like that, but I barely look
at them. My manager and my agents, they go over my contracts. They'll have them
all marked, and they'll say, "Sign here, here and here" And I say, "Yup, yup and
yup." So... I don't understand why he's getting a seventy-five percent
commission (he laughs).
Q: How did you get the role in The Phantom of the Opera? I mean that's
a seriously high-profile deal.
BUTLER: It was a strange experience for me because for Tomb Raider
and for Timeline the Dick Donner movie that I just did I really came
in from the outside. I was always the last guy to be screen tested, you
know. And I felt like the underdog. And I function very well when I'm the
underdog. Whereas with The Phantom, I had an initial meeting with Joel
where he said, "I just hope you can sing. I'd love you to be the phantom. I
think you're perfect for this." And he says, "Now Gerry, I'm not even looking at
anybody else."
Q: And he's seen your work.
BUTLER: Joel had seen all my work. Joel sees everything. He'd seen me in
Attila, he'd seen me inDracula, he'd seen me in The Jury. He's
great like that.
I feel really excited about this because Joel has put a lot of trust in me and
really believes in me. He'd had his eye on me for a long time for the part, and
he's probably the most renowned director for spotting talent with what he's done
in his career.
Q: So what was this meeting like the one where you didn't really know that
you were being considered for The Phantom?
BUTLER: Well, we had had a meeting we had a lunch together about eight
months before but this was a general meeting. He just said, "I want to meet
again." So we had a lunch. It was a bunch of his people, and we had a great
laugh. And I guess, now that I think about it, maybe he had the Phantom in mind.
We'd barely talked about it. We talked about everything but The
Phantom.
Q: So he called you back.
BUTLER: The one thing he had mentioned was that he'd seen all my stuff and
he really loved my work it never ceases to amaze me when somebody says that.
Then he called my agent.
Q: Was your agent even aware that you were being considered for The
Phantom?
BUTLER: Being the wonderful believer that [my agent] is when Joel said
"Can Gerry sign?" my agent said, "Send it over and we'll sign the stuff." (He
laughs.)
So I had this great meeting with Joel in London, by which point I'd read
his adaptation of the script. And I listened to the music while I was reading
the script. And it had just blown me away. I really... (he shakes his
head) I was so excited about it. It's been a long time since I really got
so excited about something.
Q: It must be asked: How's the singing going for you?
BUTLER: Well I, by that point, had started taking singing lessons. And after
the first session, I mean, I was surprised that the windows didn't shatter (he
laughs). But the coach said, "Man, you can do this." And after the third
session, I really didn't know where this voice had come from.
Then I had to go and sing with the musical director of the film, Simon Lee, who
is just incredible, and it went great. I sang with him about five things,
things we'd worked on.
And then I went to sing for Andrew Lloyd Weber.
Q: I was going to ask about that. Seriously... Got your nerves on straight,
then?
BUTLER: I had to prove myself to a lot of different people, but
actually, that was my choice.
They'd said, "At this point, you don't even have to go and sing for him."
Because the authority on that was Simon Lee. Simon had given the go-ahead for me
anyway.
I think at some point Andrew would wanted to have seen me anyway. Simon had
basically said, "If you want it. You're good enough to go in and sing for him
and I think you should do that. You don't have to, but it would help."
So I said, "OK. Let's go in." And suddenly it's a trip: there's Joel Schumacher,
the producer, Simon Lee came with me to play the piano.
Q: No pressure...
BUTLER: (He laughs.) I have to tell you, you just said the funniest thing.
When I had the part, and even when I had the part I kept training and singing
with Simon, we're walking down the stairs one day after a session, and he said,
"Do you know that the Phantom has done six billion dollars of business
around the world?" I was in front of him, and I think he could tell. Maybe he
saw my shoulders slump. And he just said, "No pressure."
Q: What song did you audition with for Andrew Lloyd Weber?
BUTLER: It was "Music of the Night."
Q: Have you seen some of the production design? Anything for this new look?
The new design for the Phantom himself?
BUTLER: I haven't seen any, but I hear they're incredible. I hear they're
amazing.
Q: What kind of an accent will you have to use in the film?
BUTLER: Kind of a soft English accent. Not really posh.
Q: Ciarαn Hinds, he's in the Phantom and Tomb Raider with you.
BUTLER: (He laughs.) He's used to listening to me walking about during
Tomb Raider singing The Phantom (he laughs). Now that he's doing the
movie with me, I find that very funny because I didn't have the part then. This
is when I was training for it. Strange, strange world.
Q: You start filming this fall?
BUTLER: Yes. I'm doing a movie right now in St. Louis with David Anspaugh, a
soccer film where I'm working with Wes Bentley The Game of Their Lives.
Q: Oh, that's the one with the guy from Bush, Gavin Rossdale.
BUTLER: Yeah! Gavin Rossdale's in it. And Louis Mandylor from My
Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Q: What's it's like being from Glasgow and doing a film about an American
football team?
BUTLER: Well, at the end of the day it's about beating England (he laughs).