Gerard Butler's Best Movies, Ranked
Ranked By
10.4K votes
2.0K voters
2 reranks
Voting Rules
Vote for your favorite movies and TV shows, regardless of critic reviews or how big the role was.
The magic of cinema depends on the presence of extraordinary actors like Robert Shaw, whose incredible performances have captured the hearts of audiences and solidified his place in movie history. A talented actor whose filmography spans decades, Shaw left an indelible mark on the industry. The best Shaw movies showcase his versatility and dedication to the craft, captivating audiences with his powerful presence on the big screen. Prepare to be enthralled by his most memorable roles as we explore some of the finest moments in Shaw films.
The best Shaw movies start with a high quality production, but the production is electrified by his exceptional acting. In these cinematic gems, Shaw captivated viewers with his compelling performances, bringing depth and nuance to every character he portrayed. From riveting plotlines to expertly crafted settings, these top-tier movies are quite naturally celebrated by both critics and fans alike.
Three shining examples of movies Shaw was in include Jaws, The Sting, and A Man for All Seasons. In Jaws, Shaw thrills audiences with his performance as the grizzled shark hunter Quint, while in The Sting Shaw pays a complex character effortlessly, taking on the role of cunning con artist Doyle Lonnegan. As Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons, Shaw displays his range with a profound portrayal of the steadfast statesman. Each of these outstanding Shaw films offers a unique glimpse into the actor's diverse skill set, capturing hearts and minds with each unforgettable scene.
With compelling storytelling and outstanding acting, these top Shaw films are shining examples of the actor's undeniable prowess and cinematic artistry. The best Shaw movies are a testament to the actor's enduring legacy and unrivaled talent. So, get ready to embark on a cinematic journey through some of the most cherished movies with Robert Shaw - an experience that is sure to leave you spellbound and inspired.
Latest additions: Kandahar
Over 2.0K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Gerard Butler's Best Movies, Ranked
- 1Film (2006)In the epic movie 300, King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads his Spartan warriors into battle against the massive Persian army. Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, this film is a historical fantasy war spectacle, directed by Zack Snyder. With just 300 men, Leonidas seeks to halt the advancing Persian forces led by god-king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). This visually stunning film won several awards for its unique visual effects and production design. Despite facing overwhelming odds, Leonidas and his men display an unwavering resolve and loyalty to their homeland, resulting in a gripping tale of courage and sacrifice.More 300
- Dig Deeper...What A Historically Accurate Version Of '300' Would Actually Be Like
- And Deeper...9 Behind-The-Scenes Stories From '300'
- #118 of 262 onThe 200+ Best War Movies Of All Time
- 2Film (2009)In the gripping thriller Law Abiding Citizen, Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler), a family man turned vigilante, embarks on a relentless pursuit of justice. When his wife and daughter are brutally murdered, a flawed legal system sees the killer walk free, pushing Clyde into a ruthless game of cat-and-mouse with hotshot prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx). As Clyde's methods grow increasingly elaborate and destructive, the line between justice and revenge blurs. This film is a riveting exploration of morality within the law, testing the boundaries of right and wrong in its relentless quest for retribution.More Law Abiding Citizen
- #35 of 253 onThe 200+ Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time
- #27 of 54 onThe Most Unrealistic Action Films
- #61 of 105 onThe Best Movies About A Cat And Mouse Game
- 3Olympus Has Fallen is a 2013 American action thriller film. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, it stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman, with Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Finley Jacobsen, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, and Rick Yune in supporting roles. The film depicts a North Korean-led guerrilla assault on the White House, and focuses on Secret Service agent Mike Banning's efforts to stop them. Olympus Has Fallen was released on March 22, 2013, by FilmDistrict and received mixed critical reception but earned over $160 million against a $70 million production budget. Olympus Has Fallen is one of two films released in 2013 that deals with a terrorist attack on the White House, the other being White House Down. A sequel titled London Has Fallen is in production.More Olympus Has Fallen
- #39 of 66 onThe Most Patriotic Movies of All Time
- #22 of 61 onThe 55+ Best Kidnapping & Hostage Movies
- #15 of 23 onGreat Movies So Patriotic, They Are Basically American Propaganda
- 4Film (2016)After the death of the British prime minister, the world's most powerful leaders gather in London to pay their respects. Without warning, terrorists unleash a devastating attack that leaves the city in chaos and ruins. Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) springs into action to bring U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) to safety. When Asher falls into the hands of the sinister organization, it's up to Banning to save his commander in chief from a horrible fate.
- 5Film (2004)The Phantom of the Opera, a haunting musical drama film, is a riveting tale of obsession and unrequited love. The enigmatic Phantom, performed with intense depth by Gerard Butler, resides in the catacombs beneath the Paris Opera House. He falls for the beautiful soprano Christine Daaé (Emmy Rossum), his protégé. Patrick Wilson plays Raoul, a nobleman vying for Christine's affection, setting up an eerie love triangle. This atmospheric movie won three Academy Awards and is renowned for its striking visuals and unforgettable music score by Andrew Lloyd Webber. A compelling journey into the shadows of love, artistry, and madness awaits viewers.
- #12 of 204 onMusical Movies With The Best Songs
- #565 of 772 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #33 of 64 onThe Best Horror Movie Remakes Of All Time
- 6Film (2010)In the animated fantasy film How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a young Viking who, unlike his tribe, isn't keen on killing dragons. Stoick (Gerard Butler), Hiccup's father and village chieftain, struggles to understand his son's pacifist tendencies. During one of the dragon raids, Hiccup injures a Night Fury dragon named Toothless. Instead of finishing him off, he befriends him. This unlikely friendship challenges the village's draconian norms and leads to a shift in their way of life. The movie, directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, won the Annie Award for Best Animated Feature.
- Dig Deeper...All the How to Train Your Dragon Books, Ranked Best to Worst
- #158 of 772 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #10 of 447 onThe 400+ Best Animated Kids Movies
- 7Film (2009)Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a lovelorn TV producer who, despite a long and arduous search for the perfect mate, is hopelessly single. The battle of the sexes heats up when her employers team her up with Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), an opinionated TV celebrity who plans to put Abby through the wringer to prove his own theories about what makes men and women tick.More The Ugly Truth
- #202 of 468 onThe 400+ Best Chick Flicks Ever
- #31 of 57 onRomantic Movies Your Girlfriend Forces You To Watch
- #184 of 228 onThe Best Movies For Women
- 8Film (2007)In P.S. I Love You, a romance-meets-drama film, Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) finds herself navigating the choppy waters of widowhood after her husband Gerry's (Gerard Butler) untimely death. But Gerry, in his love and foresight, has left Holly a series of letters designed to ease her grief and guide her towards reclaiming life. The movie weaves through these poignant moments as Holly discovers each letter. Directed by Richard LaGravenese, this film is an exploration of love, loss, and self-discovery set against the backdrop of Ireland's awe-inspiring landscapes.More P.S. I Love You
- #687 of 772 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #214 of 368 onThe Best Movies Based On Books
- #28 of 168 onThe 165 Best Tearjerker Movies of All Time, Ranked
- 9Film (2002)In the post-apocalyptic film Reign of Fire, Quinn Abercromby (Christian Bale) leads a band of survivors in London, striving to exist amidst the devastation wrought by dragons. These fire-breathing beasts, awakened from centuries-long slumber, have scorched the earth, leaving humanity on the brink of extinction. Enter Denton Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey), an audacious American with a daring plan to eradicate the dragon menace. This gripping tale marries fantasy and action genres, offering viewers a thrilling ride through a dystopian world where survival hinges not just on courage, but also cunning strategy against an ancient adversary.More Reign of Fire
- #117 of 190 onThe Best Movies For Men
- #47 of 90 onThe 95+ Greatest Dystopian Action Movies
- #35 of 152 onThe Best Movies of 2002
- 10Film (2004)Frankie (Jack McElhone) does not know his father because his mother, Lizzie (Emily Mortimer), ran away from the abusive lout when Frankie was just a baby. Instead of telling the truth to her deaf son, she concocts an elaborate lie, telling him that his father is a merchant seaman on the MS Accra. She even writes letters for Frankie posing as his father. But when the actual MS Accra docks in their small Scottish town, Lizzie quickly needs to find a fake father for Frankie.
- 11Film (2012)When 15-year-old surfing phenomenon Jay Moriarty (Jonny Weston) discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, actually exists near his California home, he becomes determined to conquer it. Jay enlists the aid of local surfing legend Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) to train him to ride the Mavericks and live to tell about it. As Jay and Frosty carry on their quest to achieve the impossible, they develop a unique friendship that transforms both their lives.More Chasing Mavericks
- #45 of 80 onThe Best Sports Movies About Coaches
- #23 of 69 onThe Best Movies About Overcoming Adversity
- #3 of 75 onThe 75 Best Surf Movies Of All Time
- 12Film (2010)Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler), a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, thinks he's seeing an upswing in fortune when he gets a call to bring in his bail-jumping ex-wife, a reporter named Nicole (Jennifer Aniston). Milo considers the job an easy payday, but Nicole quickly escapes to chase a lead on a murder case. The former spouses play an escalating game of one-upmanship, until they suddenly find themselves on the run for their lives.
- 13Film (2003)While working at the site of an archaeological dig, Professor Johnston (Billy Connolly) stumbles into a wormhole and plunges back in time to 14th-century France. Mad scientist Robert Doniger (David Thewlis), who accidentally created the wormhole while developing a teleportation device, sends the professor's son, Chris (Paul Walker), and protégé Kate (Frances O'Connor) back in time to retrieve him. Unfortunately, their rescue mission is sidetracked by a bloody battle between France and England.
- 14Film (2011)Sam Childers (Gerard Butler), a former biker, decides to go to East Africa to help repair homes destroyed by civil war. Transformed by the horrors he sees, Sam ignores the warnings of more experienced aide workers and breaks ground for an orphanage in the heart of territory controlled by a brutal renegade militia. But establishing a shelter is not enough; determined to save as many lives as possible, Sam leads armed missions into enemy territory to rescue kidnapped children.
- 15Film (2003)Fearless explorer Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) tries to locate Pandora's box before criminals Jonathan Reiss (Ciarán Hinds) and Chen Lo (Simon Yam) use it for evil. According to myth, the box holds deadly organisms that could kill millions of people. With her old partner, Terry (Gerard Butler), Croft goes on a hunt that takes her from Europe to Asia to Africa, where pal Kosa (Djimon Hounsou) helps her. Along the way, Croft rappels down cliffs, scuba dives and decimates many male opponents.
- #129 of 164 onThe Best Movie Sequels Ever Made
- #11 of 20 on20 Movie Posters That Ridiculously Photoshop Actresses
- #46 of 107 onThe 90+ Best Female Action Movies, Ranked
- 16Film (2014)Five years have passed since Hiccup and Toothless united the dragons and Vikings of Berk. Now, they spend their time charting the island's unmapped territories. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons -- and a mysterious dragon rider who turns out to be Hiccup's long-lost mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett). Hiccup and Toothless then find themselves at the center of a battle to protect Berk from a power-hungry warrior named Drago.
- #56 of 447 onThe 400+ Best Animated Kids Movies
- #29 of 80 onThe Best Adventure Movies For Kids
- #16 of 22 onThe Best Animated Movies With Tiny Characters
- 17Film (2008)Life is an adventure for a courageous youngster named Nim (Abigail Breslin), who lives on an exotic island with her marine-biologist father. and a menagerie of animal friends. When Nim's father goes missing, she turns to the only person she knows who can help her: adventurer Alex Rover (Gerard Butler). But what she doesn't know is that Alex Rover is really Alexandra (Jodie Foster), a timid recluse. Though faint of heart, Alexandra must find the courage within herself to come to Nim's aid.
- 18TV ProgramAttila (also known as Attila the Hun in the UK) is a 2001 American television miniseries set during the waning days of the Western Roman Empire, in particular during the invasions of the Huns in Europe.
- 19Film (2008)Old-school mobster Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson) rules London's underworld with an iron fist and a score of well-greased palms. As big-time gangsters and petty crooks all scramble to get their cut of a Russian mobster's crooked land deal, street-wise hustler One Two (Gerard Butler) tries to play both sides of the fence as the lucrative deal falls into the lap of Lenny's presumed-dead son.More RocknRolla
- 20Film (2019)Authorities take Secret Service agent Mike Banning into custody for the failed assassination attempt of U.S. President Allan Trumbull. After escaping from his captors, Banning must evade the FBI and his own agency to find the real threat to the president. Desperate to uncover the truth, he soon turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name and save the country from imminent danger.
- 21Film (2012)Long past his soccer-playing heyday, George Dryer (Gerard Butler) is struggling financially and failing in his attempt to reconcile with his ex-wife, Stacie (Jessica Biel), and young son, Lewis (Noah Lomax). When Lewis' soccer team has an opening for a coach, George steps up. Not only is George a big hit with the children, but he also attracts lots of attention from some of the players' single and unhappily married mothers (Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones).More Playing for Keeps
- #50 of 50 onThe Best Movies About Men Raising Kids
- #45 of 57 onThe 50+ Best Sports Romance Movies
- #75 of 80 onThe 75+ Best Soccer Movies Of All Time
- 22Beowulf & Grendel is a 2005 film loosely based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf. Filmed in Iceland and directed by Sturla Gunnarsson, it stars Gerard Butler as Beowulf, Stellan Skarsgård as Hrothgar, Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson as Grendel and Sarah Polley as the witch Selma. The film is a cooperative effort between Eurasia Motion Pictures, Spice Factory, and Bjolfskvida. The screenplay was written by Andrew Rai Berzins. The soundtrack was composed by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson. The story takes place in the early half of the sixth century AD in what is now Denmark, but the filming of the movie in Iceland provided many panoramic views of that country's landscape. While some of the film remains true to the original poem, other plot elements deviate from the original poem: three new characters, Grendel's father, the witch Selma, and Grendel's son are introduced, and several related plot points were developed specifically for the film. In 2006, a documentary of the making of Beowulf and Grendel, called Wrath of Gods, was released and went on to win six film awards in Europe and the U.S.
- 23Film (2009)Each week Kable (Gerard Butler), a death-row inmate, battles his fellow prisoners in a violent online game called "Slayers," his every move controlled by a young gamer's remote device. To the players, Kable and the other inmates are just simulated characters. But, to a resistance group that opposes the game's inventor, Kable is a critical component of their plan to end the inventor's form of high-tech slavery.More Gamer
- #161 of 173 onThe Best Science Fiction Action Movies
- #11 of 14 on14 'Stupid' Sci-Fi Movies That Are Secretly Brilliant
- #12 of 23 on20+ Great Movies Where People Have to Fight to the Death
- 24Film (2018)American submarine Capt. Joe Glass is on the hunt for a U.S. sub in distress in the Arctic Ocean. He soon learns that a secret Russian coup is in the offing, a conspiracy that threatens to dismantle the world order. With crew and country on the line, Glass must assemble an elite group of Navy SEALs to sneak through enemy waters, rescue the kidnapped Russian president and prevent World War III.
- 25Film (2000)Long ago, Abraham Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer) imprisoned the infamous Count Dracula (Gerard Butler) within a vault inside Carfax Abbey. In the present day, Van Helsing relies on Dracula's immortal blood to remain alive. But then thieves breaks into the vault and steal the vampire's coffin, thinking it contains something valuable. Liberated from his prison, Dracula seizes the opportunity to escape, but Van Helsing sets out to banish him to the crypt once again.
- 26Butterfly on a Wheel is a 2007 British–Canadian thriller film directed by Mike Barker, co-produced and written by William Morrissey, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Gerard Butler, and Maria Bello. The film’s title is an allusion to a line of Alexander Pope’s poem "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot": “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?” The line is usually interpreted as questioning why someone would put great effort into achieving something minor or unimportant, or who would punish a minor offender with a disproportional punishment.
- 27Film (2018)Nick O'Brien is the hard-drinking leader of the Regulators, an elite unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Ray Merrimen is the recently paroled leader of the Outlaws, a gang of ex-military men who use their expertise and tactical skills to evade the law. O'Brien, Merrimen and their crews soon find themselves on a direct collision course as the criminals hatch an elaborate plan for a seemingly impossible heist -- the city's Federal Reserve Bank.More Den of Thieves
- #146 of 155 onThe Best Ensemble Movies Of All Time
- #15 of 32 onThe Best Directorial Debuts Of 2018, Ranked
- #8 of 17 onThe Strongest Heist Movie Crews Who Could Pull Off Any Job
- 28Film (2011)Caius Martius, aka Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes), is an arrogant and fearsome general who has built a career on protecting Rome from its enemies. Pushed by his ambitious mother (Vanessa Redgrave) to seek the position of consul, Coriolanus is at odds with the masses and unpopular with certain colleagues (James Nesbitt, Paul Jesson). When a riot results in his expulsion from Rome, Coriolanus seeks out his sworn enemy, Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler). Together, the pair vow to destroy the great city.
- 29Film (2017)After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong: the system built to protect Earth is attacking it, and it becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone along with it.More Geostorm
- #11 of 14 onMovies Where A Solution Becomes An Even Bigger Problem
- #102 of 103 onThe Best Movies About Brothers
- #52 of 58 onThe 55+ Best Movies About Technology
- 30FilmMrs Brown, also theatrically released as Her Majesty, Mrs Brown, is a 1997 British drama film starring Judi Dench, Billy Connolly, Geoffrey Palmer, Antony Sher and Gerard Butler. It was written by Jeremy Brock and directed by John Madden. The film was produced by the BBC and Ecosse Films with the intention of being shown on BBC One and on WGBH's Masterpiece Theatre. However, it was acquired by Miramax and released to unexpected success, going on to earn more than $13,000,000 worldwide. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Dench was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, but lost to Helen Hunt for her role in As Good as It Gets.More Mrs Brown
- #62 of 80 onThe Best Period Romance Movies
- #11 of 79 onGreat Period Movies Set in the 19th Century
- #61 of 76 onThe Best Serious Movies Starring Comedians
