Zack Snyder directed his first comic book-based film, 300, with Gerard Butler in the lead as King Leonidas.

The movie, based on the 1998 comic series of the same name, explored a David and Goliath story, where 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas face off against 300,000 soldiers of the Persian God-King, Xerxes. Butler underwent a god-like transformation for the movie, achieving a chiseled body shape.

Zack Snyder and Gerard Butler on the sets of 300

Zack Snyder’s 300 also featured talents like Lena Headey, Dominic West, and Rodrigo Santoro, alongside Butler. The Olympus Has Fallen actor enlisted professional help to attain the physique of a 480 BC Greek warrior.

Gerard Butler’s Workout Routine For 300

Gerard Butler was in amazing shape in Zack Snyder’s 300

Gerard Butler hired Mark Twight, a mountain climber and gym trainer, to help with his workout. Twight designed an intense routine that lasted for six hours per day, five to six days a week.

The gym trainer, who owned Gym Jones in Salt Lake City, Utah, planned a training regime that focused on Olympic lifts, functional training, and metabolic body movements.

In the six hours of training, Butler dedicated two hours to CrossFit-style training, followed by bodybuilding for another two hours, and concluded with fight choreography for two hours. About his workout regimen, the Law Abiding Citizen actor told Men’s Health in an interview:

“I wanted to look really strong. I’ve seen so many actors play these kinds of roles, and you see all this equipment on either a big belly or skinny little arms.”

Twight designed what he called the “300-rep Spartan workout” to accelerate Butler’s mind-body transformation. The 300 reps included 25 pullups, 50 deadlifts (135 lb), 50 pushups, 50 jumps on a 24-inch box, 50 floor-wipers, 50 clean-and-presses (36 lb), and 25 more pullups. In addition to this, Butler also engaged in tire flipping and ring training exercises.

Gerard Butler’s Hard Work Eventually Paid Off

Gerard Butler’s hard work paid off in Zack Snyder’s 300

Gerard Butler also enlisted the help of a Venezuelan bodybuilder, Franco LiCastro, just five weeks prior to filming. Butler needed to get in shape fast, and he was determined to hasten the process by any means necessary.

The How To Train Your Dragon voice actor literally went through hell satisfying the physical demand for his role. Butler later revealed that he felt like he was pushing his body to the limit, but couldn’t resist the amazing physique he was gaining.

Butler was unrecognizable when the Zack Snyder movie finally hit the theaters. During the film’s production, The Bounty Hunter actor thought the movie was going to fail big time. But once he saw the final product, his opinion changed. Butler shared with The Hollywood Reporter:

“When I first saw the final product, I was with 13 of my representatives and friends, and our jaws were dropping. It was like, ‘Look at what Zack did!’ I can’t speak highly enough about him. As a director, as a creative, as a kind, excited, passionate guy.”

300 was welcomed in theaters with generally positive responses all across, with film critic Richard Roeper calling it “the Citizen Kane of cinematic graphic novels”.

The film raked in $456 million against a budget of $65 million. The massive box office success also spawned a sequel titled, Rise of an Empire. Both films are available for streaming on Max.