Claim: Gerard Butler is a performer.

Gerard James Butler -LRB- born 13 November 1969 -RRB- is a Scottish actor who has appeared on film , stage , and television . After studying law , Butler turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as Mrs Brown -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , and Tale of the Mummy -LRB- 1998 -RRB- . In 2000 , he starred as Dracula in the horror film Dracula 2000 with Christopher Plummer and Jonny Lee Miller .   The following year onward , he played Attila the Hun in the miniseries Attila -LRB- 2001 -RRB- and then appeared in the films Reign of Fire with Christian Bale -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , and Lara Croft Tomb Raider : The Cradle of Life with Angelina Jolie -LRB- 2003 -RRB- , before playing André Marek in the adaptation of Michael Crichton 's science fiction adventure Timeline -LRB- 2003 -RRB- . He then was cast as the role of Erik , The Phantom in Joel Schumacher 's 2004 film adaptation of the musical The Phantom of the Opera alongside Emmy Rossum . That role earned him a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actor .   Although Attila and The Phantom of the Opera were important breaks , it was only in 2007 that Butler gained worldwide recognition for his portrayal of King Leonidas in Zack Snyder 's fantasy war film 300 . That role earned him nominations for an Empire Award for Best Actor and a Saturn Award for Best Actor and a win for MTV Movie Award for Best Fight . In the 2010s , he voiced the role of Stoick the Vast in the animated action-fantasy film How to Train Your Dragon , a role he later reprised in Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , Gift of the Night Fury -LRB- 2011 -RRB- and How to Train Your Dragon 2 -LRB- 2014 -RRB- . He played military leader Tullus Aufidius in the 2011 film Coriolanus , the modernized adaptation of Shakespeare 's tragedy of the same name . He also played Sam Childers in the 2011 action biopic Machine Gun Preacher .