Birthday's to share this week : 23rd - 29th July 2017

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau does on 27th July - check out my tribute to this Birthday Lad turning 47, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 23rd July

• Ronny Cox - Born 1938, turns 79 - Actor | Writer | Producer
• Woody Harrelson - Born 1961, turns 56 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Shawn Levy - Born 1968, turns 49 - Director | Producer | Actor
• Daniel Radcliffe - Born 1989, turns 28 - Actor | Singer | Producer  

Monday 24th July

• Dan Hedaya - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actor
• Gus Van Sant - Born 1952, turns 65 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor | Actor
• Doug Liman - Born 1965, turns 52 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Lynda Carter - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actress | Singer | Songwriter
• Jennifer Lopez - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actress | Producer | Singer | Songwriter | Composer
• Rose Byrne - Born 1979, turns 38 - Actress 
• Elizabeth Moss - Born 1982, turns 35 - Actress | Producer
• Anna Paquin - Born 1982, turns 35 - Actress | Producer  

Tuesday 25th July

• Matt LeBlanc - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• D.B. Woodside - Born 1969, turns 48 - Actor   

Wednesday 26th July

• Mick Jagger - Born 1943, turns 74 - Singer | Songwriter | Composer | Producer | Actor | Writer
• Kevin Spacey - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer | Singer
• Jeremy Piven - Born 1965, turns 52 - Actor | Producer
• Jason Statham - Born 1967, turns 50 - Actor | Producer 
• Helen Mirren - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actress | Producer | Director
• Susan George - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actress | Producer
• Sandra Bullock - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actress | Producer 
• Olivia Williams - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actress 
• Kate Beckinsale - Born 1973, turns 44 - Actress 

Thursday 27th July

• Cliff Curtis - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer
• Julian McMahon - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer
• Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actor | Producer
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Born 1977, turns 40 - Actor | Producer  

Friday 28th July

• Randall Wallace - Born 1949, turns 68 - Director | Producer | Writer    

Saturday 29th July 

• David Warner - Born 1941, turns 76 - Actor
• Stephen Dorff - Born 1973, turns 44 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was born in Rudkobing, a small town on the island of Langeland in Denmark, to mother Hanne Soborg Coster, a librarian and father Jorgen Oscar Fritzer Waldau who died in 1998. He has commented in the past about his fathers struggle with alcohol and about his parents divorce, as a result of which Nikolaj and his two older sisters were mostly raised by their mother. He grew up in the small village of Tybjerg in southern Zealand - the largest and most populated island in Denmark (other than Greenland). Nikolaj studied at the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in Copenhagen, where he was educated from 1989 through to 1993, and he was the youngest Actor to be admitted there. 

Coster-Waldau made his stage acting debut in a production of 'Hamlet' at Copenhagen's Betty Nansen Theatre in 1992 and '93 before securing his small screen introduction in television movie 'Slaget pa tasken' in 1993. In 1994 the young Actor scored his big screen breakthrough role in horror thriller 'Nightwatch' (not to be confused with the Timur Bekmambetov Russian fantasy supernatural thriller of 2004) which was well received in his native country. He then appeared in a number of locally made for television short films, and stage plays in and around Copenhagen, until being cast in his British debut feature film 'Bent' in 1997 alongside Clive Owen, Jude Law, Mick Jagger, Paul Bettany, Ian McKellen and Rachel Weisz, and Directed by Sean Mathias. More Danish productions followed including 'Wildside' with Mads Mikkelsen in 1998 which he also Co-Wrote, horror offering 'Angel of the Night' that same year, 'The Cable Club' in 1999 and 'Misery Harbour' seeing out the decade.

2000 saw Danish war time drama 'Foreign Fields', then two episodes on the short lived Channel 4 television adaptation of 'Lock, Stock . . . ' and then Michael Apted's 2001 'Enigma' with Kate Winslet, Saffron Burrows and Dougray Scott. Coster-Waldau launched his US career courtesy of Ridley Scott who cast him in 2001 as Delta Force Medal of Honor recipient Gary Gordon in 'Black Hawk Down' with an all star cast. More locally produced Scandinavian films followed including 'Stealing Rembrandt', 'The Bouncer', 'My Name Is Modesty' and 'The Good Cop' before being cast in 2004 in Richard Loncraine's tennis RomCom 'Wimbledon'. In 2005 Ridley Scott came knocking again, casting Coster-Waldau in the epic historical drama 'Kingdom of Heaven' again with an all star cast. 'The Headsman' (aka 'Shadow of the Sword') came next, and then crime thriller 'Firewall' for Director Richard Loncraine again with Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany, Robert Forster and Alan Arkin. 

Up next was comedy drama 'Filthy Gorgeous' with Isabella Rossellini, comedy thriller 'The Baker' with Damian Lewis, Swedish comedy drama 'Wonderful and Loved by All', Norwegian historical drama 'The Kautokeino Rebellion', Danish crime drama 'Himmerland', Peter Berg's Sci-Fi drama 'Virtuality' and then Danish action adventure 'At World's End' in 2009. In between time there was top billing for Coster-Waldau on Fox Television's Sci-Fi detective drama series that ran for a single season of eight episodes 'New Amsterdam', with the Actor playing immortal New York homicide cop John Amsterdam.

Western 'Blackthorn' followed in 2011, then Norwegian action thriller 'Headhunters' based on the novel by Jo Nesbo and Directed by Morten Tyldum and which was both a critical and commercial success in its native Norway, with a US version allegedly in the works. 2013 saw supernatural horror film 'Mama' with Jessica Chastain and Directed by Andrew Muschietti, taking US$147M from its US$15M budget outlay. A turn in the Tom Cruise post-apocalyptic SciFi offering 'Oblivion' with Morgan Freeman too proved to be another commercial success bringing in US$287M from its US$120M budget, before 'A Thousand Times Good Night' opposite Juliette Binoche and U2's Larry Mullen Jnr., and Nick Cassavetes comedy film 'The Other Woman' with Cameron Diaz in 2014, leading on to Danish thriller 'A Second Chance' later that year.

2015 opened with comedy drama 'Klown Forever', and then in 2016 Alex Proyas' epic fantasy action adventure offering 'Gods of Egypt' with an all star cast that included Gerard Butler, Bryan Brown, Brenton Thwaites, Geoffrey Rush, Rufus Sewell but despite this the film was panned by critics for just about every reason under the sun and it recovered US$151M in ticket sales from its US$140M budget investment. Later that year he also appeared in the fifteen minute short film Written and Directed by James D'Arcy 'Chicken/Egg' also starring Hayley Atwell.

This year in a Netflix Original Film he took top billing in 'Small Crimes' with Jacki Weaver, Robert Forster and Gary Cole, the Danish drama film '3 Things', and due for imminent release is prison crime drama 'Shot Caller' with Jon Bernthal and Benjamin Bratt. 'Domino' which is currently filming is due for a 2018 release and is Directed by Brian De Palma and also stars Christina Hendricks and Guy Pearce.

This brings us up to date, however, not forgetting the role that made Coster-Waldau a household name the world over as Jaime Lannister on the hugely successful HBO series 'Game of Thrones', based on the George R.R. Martin best selling fantasy action novel series of books 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. 'GOT' started screening in early 2011 and has just aired its first episode of Season 7. Coster-Waldau has starred in 46 episodes to date and plays a central character, for which he is paid two million pounds sterling per episode for this current season, making him one of the highest paid Actors working in television today.

All up Coster-Waldau has 52 Acting credits to his name, five as Producer and one as Writer on 1998's 'Wildside'. He has fifteen awards nominations including Critics Choice Television Awards, People's Choice Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards nods - all for 'GOT'. Coster-Waldau is married to Greenlandic Singer, Actress and 1990 Miss Greenland Sascha Nukaaka Motzfeldt, with whom he has two daughters - Filippa (born in 2000) and Safina (born in 2003). They live in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. He has supported the Danish Red Cross since 2003, and in 2016 he has also supported (PRODUCT) RED in engaging with the private sector in raising awareness and funding to help eliminate HIV/AIDS across eight African countries. In late 2016 he was appointed a United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador to help raise awareness and support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to end poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - made his name in 'GOT' and we love you for it and remain glued to the screen because of it, but equally securing diverse roles on both sides of the Atlantic and increasingly in demand in both local Scandinavian and international television and film, loves a good dramatic story and portraying characters with secrets, twists and who don't follow the rules. 'All Men Must Die' Jaime Lannister - will you survive into the final season of 'GOT' - let's hope so. In the meantime Happy Birthday to you Nikolaj, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 25th February 2016

This coming Sunday 28th February at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre the 88th annual Academy Awards will be presented across 24 different categories honouring the best in film entertainment from last year. Hosted by Chris Rock for the second time the glitterati and the glamourati will be out in full force on this, Hollywood's night of nights. The main category nominations look like this : Best Film - 'The Big Short', 'The Martian', 'The Revenant', 'Spotlight', 'Room', 'Brooklyn', 'Bridge of Spies' and 'Mad Max : Fury Road'. Best Director nominations are for Adam McKay, George Miller, Lenny Abrahamson, Tom McCarthy and Alejandro Inarritu. Best Actor runnings are for Matt Damon in 'The Martian', Bryan Cranston for 'Trumbo', Michael Fassbender for 'Steve Jobs', Eddie Redmayne for 'The Danish Girl' and Leonardo DiCaprio for 'The Revenant'. Best Actress nominations go to Cate Blanchett for 'Carol', Brie Larson for 'Room', Charlotte Rampling for '45 Years', Jennifer Lawrence for 'Joy' and Saoirse Ronan for 'Brooklyn'. Best Supporting Actor nods have gone to Mark Rylance for 'Bridge of Spies', Christian Bale for 'The Big Short', Tom Hardy for 'The Revenant', Mark Ruffalo for 'Spotlight' and Sylvester Stallone for 'Creed' with Best Supporting Actress nominations going to Rooney Mara for 'Carol', Jennifer Jason Leigh for 'The Hateful Eight', Kate Winslet for 'Steve Jobs', Rachel McAdams for 'Spotlight' and Alicia Vikander for 'The Danish Girl'. Without going into more detail of the individual categories which you can easily check out on line, in summary 'The Revenant' is in the running with twelve nominations, followed by 'Mad Max : Fury Road' with ten, 'The Martian' with seven', 'Bridge of Spies', 'Carol' and 'Spotlight' each with six, 'The Big Short' and 'Star Wars : The Force Awakens' with five apiece, 'The Danish Girl' and 'Room' with four each, and 'The Hateful Eight', 'Brooklyn' and 'Sicario' each with three. You can check out my Reviews of many of the aforementioned films here at Odeon Online.

Coming closer to home, this week we have five new offerings arriving fresh and wholesome at your local cinema complex. Kicking off from acclaimed dynamic Directing duo is a historical Hollywood romp that is part fact part fiction and all entertainment with a big name cast and a throw back to the golden age of the studio system. Then there is an intense modern warfare offering based on true life events in the very recent past from a loud & proud Director used to blowing shit up for the mindless amusement of teenage boys the world over, with an Egyptian epic swords & sandals save the world gods and mortals battling it out for supremacy and the chance to rule victorious forever, following. From here we go back to WWII for a more sombre, harrowing and confronting foreign language film that has to be the must see film of its kind this year; before wrapping up with a modern take on a classic English novel mashed up with the flesh eating undead.

When you have seen your film of choice in the week ahead, share your movie going experience with you friends here at Odeon Online by leaving a comment or two below this or any other Post - we'd love to hear from y'all! In the meantime, enjoy your movie.

HAIL, CAESAR (Rated PG) - the latest offering and the 17th film from those very talented Coen Brothers - Joel and Ethan bringing us a nostalgic Hollywood comedy with an all star cast. Directed, Produced, Written and Edited by the Coens with lensman Roger Deakins on camera duty the film premiered in LA on 1st February and went on general US release on 5th February and has so far made US$25M off its US$24M budget. 'Hail, Caesar' melds a fictional story with a real life character, that being Joseph Edgar Allen John 'Eddie' Mannix (played here by Josh Brolin) who died in 1963 having worked throughout the golden era of Hollywood's studio system as a film producer, studio executive and 'fixer' to the stars of the time.

Here we have hapless Hollywood heartthrob Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) shooting an epic Roman swords and sandals movie sometime in the mid-50's, when he is drugged and abducted by a group of screenwriters with Communist tendencies who demand a ransom of $100,000. Mannix must muster his every effort in an attempt to retrieve Whitlock whilst dealing with numerous other studio issues at Capitol Pictures including a talented and handsome dancer, Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum channelling Gene Kelly),  a gorgeous swimmer, DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson channelling Esther Williams) a singing cowboy, Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich channelling Kirby Grant), and an upset Director, Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes). Meanwhile there is Tilda Swinton playing identical twin reporters Thora and Thessaly Thacker, Frances MacDormand as film editor C.C.Calhoun, Jonah Hill as surety agent, Joseph Silverman with Christopher Lambert, Dolph Lundgren, Clancy Brown, and, Michael Gambon providing the narrative. 'Hail, Coens' - sounds like another authentic amusing romp that can be delivered as only the Coens know how to.

13 HOURS : THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI (Rated MA15+) - Michael Bay Produces and Directs this true account of a crack team of six security team members who must defend the American Diplomatic compound in Libya's Benghazi, following a series of terrorist attacks on September 11th 2012. At the time Libya was named as one of the most dangerous places in the world, and this film is based on the real life events as recorded in the 2014 book '13 Hours' by Mitchell Zuckoff. Working for 'Global Response Staff' - a team of private military contractors all of whom are former highly trained, weapons skilled and field experienced special op's personnel required to protect the US Embassy outpost known as 'The Annex', and must do so against overwhelming odds. You can count on the usual fast paced, blood splattering, limb tearing and explosive action that is trademark Bay.

GODS OF EGYPT (Rated M) - Directed and Produced by Aussie Alex Proyas, and shot in Australia too at Sydney's Fox Studio's at a cost of US$140M this is a swords and sandals fantasy epic of Egyptian Gods and mortals. Here we have the future of mankind hanging in the balance as Set (Gerard Butler) the God of darkness and all things nasty takes over Egypt's throne and plunges the  wealthy and glorious empire into conflict, chaos and calamity. A mere mortal is always on hand though when civilisation needs to be rescued with big ideas, a moral compass and a stiff upper lip to  save the world and win back his one true love. And so Bek (Brenton Thwaites) comes to the rescue forming an unlikely partnership with a powerful Egyptian God, Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to thwart Set and his band of goons that takes them across the heavens and into the afterlife in a fight to the death, supremacy and peace on Earth. Also starring Bryan Brown, Rufus Sewell and Geoffrey Rush.

SON OF SAUL (Rated M) - a harrowing account of the day and a half in the life of a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz, this Hungarian production from first time Director and Co-writer  Laszlo Nemes has won much critical acclaim winning The Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film and is nominated in the same category at the forthcoming Academy Awards, as well as picking up the Grand Prix at Cannes last year. Here Saul Auslander (Geza Rohrig) is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando - work units made up of death camp prisoners who were forced for fear of their own deaths to dispose of the bodies of gas chamber victims during the Holocaust. When Saul discovers the dead body of a young boy, he takes him for his son and seeks against all odds to find a Rabbi to give the child a proper Jewish burial, whilst protecting himself from the threat of death at any moment. 38 awards wins, 36 nominations and the highest critical acclaim, this is must see cinema that will shock, inspire, surprise and delight.

PRIDE + PREJUDICE + ZOMBIES (Rated MA15+) - just as it must be true (because Hollywood says so) that Abraham Lincoln was a vampire slayer, so it must also be true that Jane Austen knew a thing or two about zombies. And so it is in 19th Century England which is increasingly becoming overrun with the undead, that the Bennett sisters, recently returned from China where they each learned the skills of martial arts and weaponry, have to thwart the evil flesh eating foe with dashing young suitor Mr. Darcy in toe, also not afraid of dispensing with a pesky zombie or six! Directed by Burr Steers who wrote the screenplay of the Seth Grahame-Smith novel of the same name, and starring Lily James, Sam Riley, Suki Waterhouse, Charles Dance, and Lena Headey, 'PPZ' has so far made US$12M back of its initial US$28M budget.

With five new movie releases coming to a movie theatre near you in the week ahead, there is no reason not to get out in front of your favourite big screen. When you have done so, share your thoughts on your film experience with your like minded friends at this Blog.

See you at the Odeon.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 8th - 14th November 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Gerard Butler does on 13th November - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 46 at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 8th November

• Michael Nyqvist - Born 1960, turns 55 - Actor | Producer
• Richard Curtis - Born 1956, turns 59 - Writer | Producer | Director
• Gordon Ramsey - Born 1966, turns 49 - Celebrity Chef | Restauranteur | Television Personality
• Tara Reid - Born 1975, turns 40 - Actress | Producer
• Parker Posey - Born 1968, turns 47 - Actress

Monday 9th November

• Tony Slattery - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actor | Writer

Tuesday 10th November

• Taron Egerton - Born 1989, turns 26 - Actor
• Walton Goggins - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actor | Producer
• Hugh Bonneville - Born 1963, turns 52 - Actor
• Roland Emmerich - Born 1955, turns 60 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Ennio Morricone - Born 1928, turns 87 - Composer | Singer | Songwriter

Wednesday 11th November

• Leonardo DiCaprio - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Stanley Tucci - Born 1960, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director
• Scoot McNairy - Born 1977, turns 38 - Actor | Producer
• Calista Flockhart - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress
• Demi Moore - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actress | Producer

Thursday 12th November

• Anne Hathaway - Born 1982, turns 33 - Producer
• Radha Mitchell - Born 1973, turns 42 - Actress | Producer
• Ryan Gosling - Born 1980, turns 35 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer

Friday 13th November

• Gerard Butler - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | Producer
• Steve Zahn - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actor
• Whoopi Goldberg - Born 1955, turns 60 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Television Personality

Saturday 14th November

• Olga Kurylenko - Born 1979, turns 36 - Actress
• Josh Duhamel - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor
• Paul McGann - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actor

Gerard James Butler was born in Paisley, Scotland to mother Margaret, and father Edward Butler, a book-keeper. He is the youngest of three children, and at six months old moved with the family unit to Quebec, Canada. Twelve months later he was back again with his mother, when his parents marriage collapsed. It would be another 14 year before he would see his father again. Butler attended St. Mirin's and St. Margaret's High School in Paisley where he became Head Boy and did well enough in his studies to secure a place at law school at the University of Glasgow. Whilst in his teens he also studied at the Scottish Youth Theatre. At 16 Butler junior was reunited with Butler senior and over the next few years they became quite close. At University he was elected President of the Law Society. At 22, Butler senior died of cancer. Before his last year of law school, Butler decamped to California spending the majority of the year at Venice Beach and mostly in a drunken stupor. Upon graduating he moved to Edinburgh and joined a practise as a trainee lawyer but the week before qualifying was fired for his unruly partying behaviour. At 25 he relocated himself to London to chase his dream of becoming famous when his potential law career slipped away.

Unable to secure any acting gigs initially he worked several jobs including waiting at table, in telemarketing and demonstrating toys at toy fairs. His first acting role came in the Steven Berkoff stage adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus' - given to him because he auditioned so well above the other Actors, despite his lack of any formal acting training or experience. He was now 27, and a year later scored the role of Renton in the stage play of 'Trainspotting'. His big screen debut came in 1997 with 'Mrs. Brown' playing Billy Connolly's younger brother and opposite Judy Dench.

He followed this up with a bit part in Bond's 'Tomorrow Never Dies', British horror offering 'Tale of the Mummy', then 'Fast Food', 'One More Kiss' and 'The Cherry Orchard' to see out the decade. At 30 Butler moved to L.A. where over the next few years would secure roles in 'Tomb Raider 2', 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Dracula 2000'.

Th early part of the new decade saw turns in a number of TV series including 'Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married', the mini-series 'Attila' and 'The Jury' over multiple episodes. He was cast in Joel Schumacher's film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera' in 2004 because of his singing talent gained playing in a rock band during his University years. His performance was largely praised, despite the lacklustre reviews the film received. With 'Reign of Fire', 'Timeline' and 'Dear Frankie' in 2004, he followed these up with what many describe his breakout performance as King Leonidas in 2005's '300' as the role that really put him on the map.

The next few years saw 'P.S. I Love You', 'Nim's Island' with Jodie Foster, 'RocknRolla' for Guy Ritchie, 'The Ugly Truth', 'Gamer' and 'Law Abiding Citizen'.

2010 delivered for Butler the action comedy 'The Bounty Hunter' and then voice work on the successful animated feature 'How to Train Your Dragon' which he reprised again in 2014, and is set to do so once more in the third instalment slated for a 2018 release. Having starred in 'Coriolanus' at the start of his acting career on stage, he got the opportunity to do so again in the film adaptation by Director/Actor and Producer Ralph Fiennes.




This was followed up by 'Machine Gun Preacher' in 2011, and then in 2012 'Chasing Mavericks' and 'Playing for Keeps' with actioner 'Olympus Has Fallen' in 2013 - a role he is to reprise next year in 'London Has Fallen' with Morgan Freeman and Aaron Eckhart again.





Next up there is 'Gods of Egypt' for Aussie Director Alex Proyas, 'Geostorm' for Dean Devlin, 'London Has Fallen' which are all in post-production with 'The Headhunter's Calling' currently filming, and 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' recently announced. Butler has 52 acting credits to his name, nine Production credits and six Soundtrack credits, and he is the recipient of two award wins and another twelve nominations.

Living between Glasgow and Los Angeles, Butler claims to be dry of alcohol consumption, and successfully cured himself of pain killer dependency in rehab, which he became addicted to following a surfing accident while shooting 'Chasing Mavericks'. He is the proud part owner of the Jamaican Tallawahs cricket team which he bought into in 2013, and he has actively supported 'Mary's Meals' since 2010 which sets up school feeding programmes in some of the worlds poorest areas.

Gerard Butler - deep gravelly Scottish voice, touted once to play James Bond after Pierce Brosnan, has a reputation as an all round nice guy, not formally trained in acting and almost qualified as a lawyer, and, he has maintained his six pack abs since 2005's '300' - good on ya, and Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-