When I first watched Gerard Butler’s interview (below), I kept hearing all these strange noises, necessitating frequent pausing on my part to look accusingly at the dog and wonder if I was going to need to open a window. It turns out he’s actually sitting in the world’s creakiest chair (Gerry, not my dog).
Don’t let that detract from your enjoyment though, as I’m quite sure that now I’ve brought it to your attention you WILL NOT spend the whole time thinking “when is that chair going to creak again”.
I’d love to claim I conducted these interviews but I didn’t (I’d have asked much more incisive questions like where did they get baby Banning’s hat / who decided on the brilliantly batshit mid-credits scene, which is tonally the opposite to the film but also quite sweet, plus we get to see Butler almost naked so there’s that).
Enjoy! Then check out my 4/5 review of Angel Has Fallen and my deep dive / shallow bellyflop into the Has Fallen world, Gerard Butler’s ‘Fallen’ Oeuvre.
Gerard Butler (Secret Service agent Mike Banning):
“Now you’re climbing into the vulnerabilities of Banning and the struggles that he has.”
Nick Nolte (Clay Banning, Mike’s dad):
“It’s a difficult thing to do, to take an action film and try to put in a relationship.”
Danny Huston (Mike Banning’s old friend from their military days, Wade Jennings):
“These characters are brought together because of their damaged souls and what the past has done to them.”
Jada Pinkett Smith (FBI Agent Helen Thompson):
“I’m a very physical person… I stay ready.”
Morgan Freeman (President Allan Trumbull):
“What defines them is action.”
Piper Perabo (Leah Banning):
“I was really intrigued because I’d seen [director Ric Roman Waugh’s] documentary on service members dealing with PTSD and I thought that kind of filmmaker coming into an action franchise is gonna make something really cool.”
Ric Roman Waugh (Angel Has Fallen director):
“The idea was to create an origins story for Mike Banning.”
[Interviews courtesy of Lionsgate and Millennium Films]
More Banning-Butler:
Olympus Has Fallen review (3.5/5)
London Has Fallen review (3/5)
Angel Has Fallen review (4/5)
Article: Gerard Butler’s ‘Fallen’ Oeuvre
Article: If Gerard Butler Worked In My Office
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