Filming an action movie is no walk in the park, but filming an action movie with a serious injury sounds like a nightmare. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Gerard Butler revealed that he shot Den of Thieves 2: Pantera with a freshly torn ACL. Ouch.
“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 said. “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.“
Butler continued, “But yeah… I wanted to put a ‘but’ in to make it sound positive, but it wasn’t positive; it was a nightmare!” And I was a whiny little bitch!“
Butler stars alongside O’Shea Jackson Jr. in the Den of Thieves sequel, which finds Big Nick (Butler) back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange. You can check out our own interview with Butler and Jackson Jr. right here, as well as a sit down with writer/director Christian Gudagast and producer Tucker Tooley. You’ll also get to see our own JimmyO step behind the wheel of a Porsche and speed around the track.
The first film was released in 2018 and grossed $80 million worldwide. Despite the mixed reviews it received upon release, the film has since grown a sizable cult following. Butler previously teased that the Den of Thieves sequel would be a “more glamorous journey” than the first film and “more fun [&] sexy.” We won’t have long to wait to find out for ourselves as Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is set to hit theaters on January 10th. Also, keep an eye out for our review right here on JoBlo!