Gerard Butler is reprising his role as Stoick the Vast in the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, and he admits there were some unique challenges in doing the story this way. The actor scoffed when asked if his beard was real in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. He said getting the thing on and off every day was a nightmare.
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“No! It was like five pieces of hell. Hours every day, and then another hour just to get into the costume,” Butler said. The actor voiced Stoick in the original How to Train Your Dragon back in 2010, and has held the role in both sequel movies, along with some short films and TV specials. Butler is the only original cast member playing his role in the live-action remake, so he is uniquely qualified to talk about the process and the reason for creating this version in the first place.
“When it’s animated, you don’t get to live in that world,” Butler said. “But now, being in the live-action version, you’re in the Viking village, standing in the arenas. It’s a whole different level.”
[RELATED: Universal Epic Universe Offers New How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk Details]
Butler also revealed that his costume weighed about 90 pounds altogether, yet it wasn’t enough to keep out the chill while filming in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He praised all of his co-stars and colleagues for working through difficult conditions, and confirmed that he has already seen the finished result. To him, it was all worth it for an “incredible” movie.
How to Train Your Dragon takes place in a fantasy world with many cultural nods to real history, including the Viking culture of its main characters. It follows a young man named Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III — originally voiced by Jay Baruchel, and now played by Mason Thames — who defies his duty to slay a dragon and instead befriends one. The movie is loosely based on a children’s book by British author Cressida Cowell, but has grown and taken on a life of its own.
The franchise is huge and seemingly unstoppable — it has spawned several TV spinoffs, graphic novels, video games and even a stage play, captivating a generation and raking in profits. Still, some fans side-eyed the plans for a live-action remake, questioning whether or not the story would be suited by a new medium.
Hopefully Butler’s enthusiastic endorsement puts some of those concerns at ease. How to Train Your Dragon hits theaters on June 13, 2025. The original animated film is streaming now on Max.
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