Butler’s Apprehension Over Thriller Role

GERARD BUTLER was worried about taking on a role in LAW ABIDING CITIZEN - because he feared comparisons to SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS and KEVIN SPACEY.

The actor, who shot to fame after starring in a string of romantic comedies, plays a man intent on avenging the deaths of his family in the new thriller movie.

But the Scottish star was wary of accepting the psychotic role, because of inevitable comparisons to the acting legends.

He tells Britain’s Empire magazine, “I was talked out of it a couple of times. But the fact that people were saying ‘no’ was all the more reason for me to do it. Can you do a romantic comedy, or a musical, and then go into a thriller and really scare the c**p out of people?

“What worries me when you take on a role like this, people will go, ‘ Well, he’s no Kevin Spacey!’ or, ‘Tony Hopkins was much better!’

“But I can’t be affected by projected fear.”