Gerard Butler Names His Two Favorite Characters

Even without speaking to him, it’s clear from his vibrant performance that Detective “Big Nick” O’Brien from the Den of Thieves movies has become one of Gerard Butler’s favorite roles. Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. return as Detective “Big Nick” O’Brien and master thief Donnie Wilson, respectively, in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, the sequel to their 2018 action-heist hit. The movie delivers its fair share of big twists as director/writer Christian Gudegast expands the franchise’s world and its creative scope.

In a recent interview with MovieWeb, Butler said playing Big Nick stands out among his long list of characters in films like How to Train Your Dragon, Plane, Angel Has Fallen, and others, although he has one favorite character that can’t be surpassed:

Butler then went straight into praising Big Nick as his next favorite character who comes to mind:

“But in terms of somebody who has color, who has a lot going on with their life, who is unhinged, unpredictable, but also has quite a kind of human spirit; who’s irrepressible and dangerous and has all those things going on in the world that he lives in… [Big Nick] is a great, fun character to play.”

The steely detective, as embodied by Butler, is also fun and engaging to watch. “It creates a lot of, I think, great unforgettable moments as you move through the movie,” Butler added of the sequel. “We have so many in this and especially how [Big Nick] bounces off Donnie Wilson here. There is no Nick without Donnie, sadly. Nick wouldn’t like to admit that, but Donnie does kind of help mold Nick into who he is.”

The Action-Packed ‘Den of Thieves’ Moves to Europe

Expect higher stakes in the sequel as enemies Nick and Donnie are forced to become allies. The duo’s new adventure picks up right where the first film left off. Filmmaker Christian Gudegast delivers even more incredible action sequences, stunts, and, in a refreshing twist, an evolving dynamic between Nick and Donnie. The European setting also adds to the intrigue, as both main characters are forced to adapt to new situations.

To that end, look for healthy doses of humor, brotherhood, and tension between the duo and a compelling new narrative to track. The film’s core story finds the duo reuniting, then plotting a massive heist at the world’s largest diamond exchange — all to shake down a slew of criminals, of course. Butler once described the film as capturing “the whole gambit of both what is super joyous and what is super tough — and what is everything in between.”

Den of Thieves hit theaters seven years ago and fans were immediately taken by the premise: A shady group, known as The Outlaws, robbed Los Angeles’ Federal Reserve. Big Nick was brought in to clean everything up. The sequel is just as gritty and action-packed. Meadow Williams returns as Holly O’Brien, as does Jordan Bridges as Bob; the film also stars Salvatore Esposito, Orli Shuka, Dino Kelly, Nazmiye Oral, and Rico Verhoeven. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera opens in theaters January 10 from Lionsgate.

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Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Release Date

January 10, 2025

Director

Christian Gudegast

Runtime

0 Minutes

Cast

Gerard Butler
, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
, Meadow Williams
, Jordan Bridges
, Evin Ahmad
, Swen Temmel
, Bob Jennings
, Michael Bisping
, Salvatore Esposito
, Orli Shuka
, Cristian Solimeno
, Nazmiye Oral
, Yasen Zates Atour
, Dino Kelly
, Rico Verhoeven
, Velibor Topic
, Antonio Bustorff
, Yuri D. Brown
, Birol Tarkan Yıldız
, John West Jr
, Ciryl Gane
, Mark Grosy
, Ignacio Herráez
, Stéphane Coulon

Writers

Christian Gudegast

Studio(s)

Atmosphere Entertainment MM
, Diamond Film Productions
, G-BASE
, Entertainment One
, Tucker Tooley Entertainment

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