10 Most Intense Comic Book Movie Performances Ever
9. Gerard Butler As King Leonidas
Oh, Gerard Butler, how the might have fallen. He started off as royalty, and has since dropped off into starring in hacky rom-coms alongside Katherine Heigl and Jennifer Aniston, and fronting the empty-headed Die Hard rip-off Olympus Has Fallen (which is getting a sequel for no reason). That early role, though, still shines. There's a reason he got offered a bunch of big-budget fluff after 300. He was dynamite as King Leonidas, leader of the Spartan army, in the adaptation of Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's graphic novel. He didn't want to get typecast after that, which is unfortunate, because there's worse things to get typecast as. Than, well, a guy who gives his all in a somewhat two-dimensional role and manages to create a three-dimensional character thanks to level of commitment and intensity. Leonidas is mostly remembered for the THIS...IS...SPARTA! meme now, but it's important to remember that Butler totally killed it in the part.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
