Gerard Butler Discusses His Santa Role and Anticipated Family Christmas Confrontations

Action star Gerard Butler’s latest character, Santa Claus in the new TV animation The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland, may share his bearded appearance, but their similarities end there. While St. Nick is occupied with Christmas duties, the Scottish actor is looking forward to a traditional festive “fight” with his family. The Paisley-born actor intends to spend the holidays in Scotland, a practice he tries to maintain as much as possible. “I almost always come back. It’s an important time to check in,” stated the 55-year-old, who currently resides in Los Angeles. He described a “good Scottish Christmas” as an occasion for seeing family and friends, followed by “picking up on fights where they’ve been left a year ago,” which he noted could result in “a few smashed glasses.” Butler, widely recognized for his intense action-oriented roles in films like 300 (2006), Olympus has Fallen (2013), and Kandahar (2023), views finally portraying “the man in the big red suit” as a dream role. He expressed that he can “retire happy.” “I’ve finally conquered it,” he remarked. “I’m playing Santa.” The film is a blend of Clement Clarke Moore’s poem ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas and Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice in Wonderland. It chronicles Santa and his reindeer’s journey into Wonderland to help boost the Queen of Hearts’ Christmas spirit, with assistance from Alice and the Mad Hatter. Butler described the film as “bonkers,” adding, “We’re going down a rabbit hole and stuff is gonna get pretty crazy.” Butler characterized his rendition of St. Nick as “a bit of an idiot who just loves being Santa.” He commented, “It’s awesome to make those kind of movies that you can imagine families sitting watching together at Christmas time,” and expressed his belief that “I do think it could become a little Christmas classic.” The animation marks Butler’s return to singing, a skill first showcased in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 2004 film adaptation of Phantom of The Opera. He indicated that he preferred not to overthink the process and to proceed directly to the sound booth. “The second I read this script, I could just hear my voice and see those little moments. I almost wanted to step in and do it straight away,” he explained. Butler also noted, “That Scottish accent really lends itself to a dotey, kind of bombastic, fun Santa. It just seemed to work well.” This Sky Original film is based on the bestselling book of the same title, authored by Carys Bexington and illustrated by Kate Hindley. Butler’s Scottish Santa is joined by other prominent voice actors, including Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones as the Queen of Hearts and Simone Ashley from Bridgerton as Alice. The film will be accessible on Sky Cinema for UK audiences starting 13 December.