Mike Colter Says ‘Plane’ Works Because of Chemistry with Gerard Butler: ‘He Was Really Dialed In’

The Evil actor teamed up with Butler for the action film that sees their characters form an unlikely alliance in order to survive

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Mike Colter is flying high.

The Luke Cage alum, 46, stars alongside Gerard Butler in the action movie Plane, now available to watch at home — a film he says is successful thanks to his costar’s contagious dedication.

“He really cared about this movie,” Colter tells PEOPLE. “I think a movie like this on paper doesn’t work unless people are dialed in. There’s some chemistry there, there’s something that you can’t quite define, but if it doesn’t work, then the movie doesn’t work.”

Thankfully, Colter and Butler hit it off — “we were able to generate something between the two of us” — Colter says, and he credits the pair’s chemistry for helping invest audiences in the plot.

Colter also notes that Butler’s approach to both of their characters was different than what either of the two men were used to.

“I think him allowing me to sort of take this other heroic role was a change for him and a change for me,” he says. “But what I learned about him is he was very giving. He was very humble and very gracious with his efforts and time, and that allowed for this film to work on all levels.”

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Butler plays the titular plane’s captain, Brodie Torrance, while Colter plays Louis Gaspare, a prisoner-turned-ally when the characters end up stranded on a remote, war-torn island in the Philippines.

In reality, the movie was filmed in Puerto Rico, and Colter says one of his favorite things to do when he wasn’t filming was explore the island.

“The El Yunque Rainforest, that’s a really beautiful place to go visit. I really enjoyed my time in San Juan,” he says. “Old San Juan in particular, I found some really good food there. I remember lots of iguanas, a lot of crabs running around on the resort we were staying at. I just had a really great time.”

Puerto Rico’s climate was not to be messed with either, says Colter, but the warm weather didn’t deter the cast or crew.

“Obviously it was very hot, which we needed for the film, so it was sweltering heat, it was humid. It was almost like a sauna at all times when you walked outside, but it felt good,” Colter recalls. “It’s good for your skin, and I guess it’s just one of those things you get used to. I didn’t really mind it at all. People were really hardworking and really nice and kind.”

While Colter is currently busy on the set of his Paramount+ show Evil, he’ll also be returning for the sequel to Plane, aptly titled Ship.

Right now, Ship is “still in the early stages of development,” Colter shares, but the sequel will pick up from where Gaspare’s story leaves off at the end of the original movie.