Zack Snyder’s 2006 film “300,” based on the comic book by Frank Miller, tells a hyper-stylized and not-the-least-bit-historically-accurate version of the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) wherein 300 Spartan soldiers managed to fend off anywhere from 120,000 to 300,000 soldiers of the Persian Empire for three full days.

Both Miller’s book and Snyder’s film present the Spartans as teeth-gashing, testosterone-spitting, Spam-scented beefcake slabs comprised of nothing but pectoral muscles, testicles, and homophobia. They speak in “Join the Marines” recruiting slogans and disparage anything that’s not at least 4000% more masculine than a two-ton bag of Tom Jones’ chest hair.

Speaking of chest hair, none of the Spartans have any, happy to parade around their cartoonishly cut physiques as if they all possess a severe shirt allergy. Leading the charge is King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), a man who cannot help but add multiple exclamation marks after every sentence he speaks.

“300” was a massive hit, speaking to the sharply expressed jingoism America was experiencing in the mid-2000s. “300” was all about the bravery of soldiers and the positive, ultra-masculine trappings that come with deadly combat. One might admire Snyder’s bold, stylistic artificiality, but it may be hard to get on the wavelength of the film’s brazenly fascist ideology.

“300” made Butler an overnight sensation. Before “300,” Butler had notable epic roles in films like “Dracula 2000” (he was Dracula), “The Phantom of the Opera” (he was the Phantom), and “Beowulf & Grendel” (he was Beowulf). “300” merely continued a sharp upward career trajectory for the actor.

In 2011, Warner Bros. exec Alan Horn spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about his overseeing of “300,” and recalled a curious stipulation he attached to Bulter’s casting. He could play Leonidas, but he had to quit smoking first.

THIS! IS! *cough cough* SPAR! TA!

Warner Bros.

Horn was frank about how much he disliked the idea of making “300.” Two high-profile peplum films from 2004 — Wolfgang Petersen’s “Troy” and Oliver Stone’s “Alexander” — had both flopped, and Horn wasn’t interested in hitching his wagon to yet another sword and sandal stinker. Horn only changed his mind after he met with Zack Snyder and the director explained how different his film was going to be. Snyder was also already eyeballing Butler for the role of Leonidas, a decision Horn hated. Butler wanted a meeting, too. He told the story of meeting Butler as follows:

“Butler had done ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ for us. I said, ‘I don’t see him for the role.’ To me, he was the Phantom. A few days later, I get a call from this Gerard Butler. He says, ‘Can I come and see ya?’ […] So he comes to see me, and he’s really physically imposing. I knew from ‘Phantom’ that he smoked, and I thought I smelled it on him. So I said, ‘Okay, you can have the part on one condition: You have got to stop smoking.’ He said, ‘Are you serious?’ I said: ‘Yes. Give me your word, and it’s yours.’ And he said, ‘I give you my word.'”

Horn — perhaps affecting an old-fashioned way of thinking — still thought of movie stars as role models and wanted Butler to present a “cleaner” image for any younger people who might look up to him. Plus, if he was going to get into washboard-abs shape to play Leonidas, it was probably a good idea for Butler to give up such an unhealthy habit. For “300,” Butler was off the cigarettes.

Butler and smoking

Warner Bros.

There’s an old saying among longtime smokers that quitting is easy, as one can quit three or four times a month. Butler has gone on record about his struggles with cigarettes, saying — to the Daily Record in 2012 — that he tried to quit over 40 times. He also noted how easy it was to restart, even after a few years without a single puff:

“It took me 40 attempts to stop. I was hypnotized 23 times, I had my veins injected with sodium pentathol had my ears electrolized and my hands lasered. […] About three months ago, I was out with some friends. Russell Crowe was one of them. There was 12 of them and 11 of them were smoking. That was it, I was off.”

It seems that if you’re partying with Russell Crowe, then you’re more likely to fall off the wagon, at least when it comes to smoking. Butler was clean for four years before that fateful night. The actor claimed that he smoked for a few months before quitting again. It seems that Butler still struggles as he was photographed taking a few drags as recently as 2023.

After “300,” Butler started showing up in major American releases like “The Ugly Truth,” “Gamer,” “Law-Abiding Citizen,” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” His best role would come in 2011 playing Aufidius in Ralph Fiennes’ film adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus.” He worked with Guy Ritchie on “RocknRolla.” He was also in the corny-ass “Olympus Has Fallen” and the even cornier-ass Geostorm,” both appealing in their own right. To this day, he remains a legitimate movie star.