Gerard Butler

Funnily enough, when I originally went in for my screen test, that set was already built.

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.

I had to prove myself to a lot of different people.

The chance to be both artistically appreciated and commercially appreciated… That’s what you hope for.

By that point, I had started taking singing lessons. And after the first session, I mean, I was surprised that the windows didn’t shatter. And after the third session, I really didn’t know where this voice had come from.

Choosing the right mask helps you… We went through many masks. It was very particular leather that as soon as you smudged it, you had to get a new one. We went through about 55 masks.

My manager and my agents, they go over my contracts.

I knew I’d just done one of the most amazing things that I will ever get a chance to do. Just to be part of a musical that’s not your background and to pull it off and to think that we’ve done something that’s really special.

I always find stuff in my characters to relate to.

I started singing for The Phantom in January, and we started filming in October and I sang all the way through to the next June. In fact, I was singing for about two months before I even knew I had the role.

Generally I don’t like doing remakes, but I think that’s more in the cynical world of Hollywood where normally remakes are purely for commercial reasons.

I was getting to bed about 10 P.M. so wound up and not getting to sleep by 11, and because I was putting the prosthetics on for five hours, I had to be up at 3 in the morning.

I was training to be a lawyer… I was president of the law society at Glasgow University, and my bass guitarist was my secretary of my law society; the lead guitarist and writer worked at the law firm that I worked.

I went from somebody who didn’t sing to somebody who didn’t speak.

Angelina came up, and as soon as we said hello, I thought, This is going to be great. I’m really going to love doing this with her. And I did. And then I was very excited to do the movie after that.

I had to get used to wearing a mask and wearing a prosthetic and performing with those things while singing and expressing myself through stylized movement, while keeping it as human as possible so the audience could be closer to the horror of the Phantom.

I was amazed and upset by the looks I got just walking around the studio… It illuminates the ugliness and the beauty that exists within each of us, and that’s what this story represents to me.

As long as you do the best work that you can and not make it bland… because you’re going down a lane that is trying to make everybody happy. You have to take an angle on these things.

The Phantom, as well as being backed up by that music, it just so was a role that I identified with so powerfully. From the first second that I walked on to perform.

I love doing the stunts. It’s as simple as that.

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.