How To Train Your Dragon star Gerard Butler on why Saudi Arabia is opening up to the world

Dubai: Just a few years ago, going to the movies in Saudi Arabia was unheard of.

Today, it’s a red carpet reality—complete with cheering fans, cinematic milestones, and global stars like Gerard Butler taking centre stage.

The Scottish actor, best known for his roles in 300, Olympus Has Fallen, was in Riyadh recently for the regional premiere of his latest film How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.

His visit wasn’t just a PR pit-stop—it felt personal, purposeful, and full of admiration for a region that’s rewriting its own cinematic script.

“I’d always wanted to come to Saudi Arabia,” Butler said in an exclusive video interview with Gulf News.

“It had always been this kind of land that it was very mystical and mysterious, you know, and now I think that it’s being opened up to the world.”

Saudi Arabia lifted its 35-year ban on cinemas in 2018 as part of 'Vision 2030', a cultural and economic reform plan led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Since then, the country has quickly transformed from film-free zone to a budding entertainment capital—hosting red carpets, festivals, and major international productions.

Butler experienced that shift first-hand when he shot his action thriller Kandahar in AlUla, one of the Kingdom’s most visually striking regions.

“I loved my experience on Kandahar,” he recalled. “I loved AlUla. It was maybe my favourite location that I filmed on.”

But it wasn’t just the dramatic desert backdrop that left an impression. It was the people of Saudi Arabia.

“I just found the people so incredibly hospitable and warm,” he said.

“And a lot of young, talented filmmakers that were also on our set—these young students. I think it’s great that it’s opening up to the world.”

Butler spoke with genuine warmth and curiosity about Saudi Arabia’s evolving relationship with film. For a global actor who’s spent decades in front of cameras and behind the scenes, what he saw in the Kingdom reminded him of what cinema once meant everywhere: joy, awe, and togetherness.

“I love that people are really into cinema here,” he said. “It’s new, it’s fresh, it’s exciting. I kind of wish we still had that more around the rest of the world, because that’s the way it should be. Going to see a movie with a crowd of people on the big screen—you can’t beat that.”

His return to the character of Stoick the Vast in How to Train Your Dragon was another emotional thread during his time in Riyadh. Butler voices the burly Viking chieftain and father figure in the beloved animated franchise, a role known for its gravitas, humour, and, of course, that unforgettable beard.

“There’s a lot of my personality in Stoick,” Butler said. “I think the part of me that wasn’t in Stoick was probably in my beard. So maybe not so much me—because the beard, to me, is the bit that made him more like a granddad. You know, kind of brought him up even another generation.”

Butler sees Stoick’s beard not just as a character choice, but as a symbol of everything that makes the Viking leader memorable—charm, wisdom, and emotional depth.

“It’s also what makes him so charming and unforgettable, and also, like, all of those things.”

The physicality of the role—the costume, the helmet, the sheer weight of Stoick’s presence—was something Butler embraced fully.

“When I put on that costume, I became the chieftain of Berk,” he said. “And that helmet, and the weight of that costume, and the size of it—it was both challenging. But to fit into it, you needed that power. And that power I grew to feel and understand and enjoy. And what it meant to me. What it meant to stand around all these Vikings in this world.”

The voice of Stoick—gruff, stoic, yet deeply emotional—was a crucial tool in bringing the character’s humanity to life. For Butler, it wasn’t about playing a cartoon; it was about playing a father with fears, pride, and profound love.

“It felt great to be able to play a character that is so big and bombastic,” he said, “but also to let people into his heart and his soul and his grief and his pain and his joy. Which is kind of what, I think, what touches you so surprisingly.”

“But yet not to abandon the enjoyment and the bigness and the offishness and the goofiness and the fear. You know, he’s quite an imposing, powerful character. So for me to be able to try and get as many colours and aspects and never kind of... for it to just feel a generalised take on an animated character.”

Butler also offered a thoughtful reflection on what makes How to Train Your Dragon stand out from typical family fare.

“We’re maybe a different generation, I don’t know,” he said. “But when I grew up, I feel like there were some pretty deep, intense movies grappling with very challenging topics. And then I think it kind of disappeared. But I definitely think it’s coming back.”

Not all family movies go there, he pointed out—but Dragon does.

“I think that’s what’s surprising and grown-up about How to Train Your Dragon. It works for—it’s eight to 80, as we say. Because I think it has the kind of complexity of those really interesting themes. And yet you can also just let go and be charmed and amazed and involved with the beauty and the fun of the journey.”

Butler’s presence wasn’t just about promoting a film—it reflected Saudi Arabia’s dramatic cultural transformation. Just seven years after lifting its decades-long cinema ban, the Kingdom has emerged as a serious player on the global film stage.

The red carpet premiere at the cinemas in Roshn Front—marked by cheering fans and the Kingdom Tower illuminated with How to Train Your Dragon projections—underscored the region’s growing clout.

For Butler, it wasn’t just a publicity tour to tick off a list; it was a reminder of why cinema matters, and where its future might just be heading.

How To Train Your Dragon is out in UAE cinemas on June 12