10 Movie Moments More Terrifying When You Know The Truth
4. Gerard Butler Was Almost Defeated By A Few Scary Waves - Chasing Mavericks
The same bloke who led many a Spartan on the big-screen was only too happy to take on the waves the minute he heard about surfing drama Chasing Mavericks.
But this excuse to learn what it took to surf soon turned into something of a nightmare for the action star in the end, with Gerard Butler eventually noting to The Graham Norton Show (via People) just how close he came to drowning after being hit by one particularly hazardous wave whilst shooting one of the film's daring surfing moments.
Despite the whole movie crew witnessing their leading man be fully taken out by a 30-foot wave and stay down for an unsettling amount of time, Butler would still later claim that he wanted to return to the sea on the same day due to the feeling of hitting the water being "pretty addictive".
As each new wave came, though, Butler continued to be turned over and dragged down for around a minute until he finally came up for air - and after, briefly thinking "Wow, I'm going to die making a movie."
Chasing Mavericks may not have made a splash at the box office, but that doesn't change the fact that Butler still put it all on the line for the sake of authentically riding some truly intimidating waves.