Gerard Butler Says He Almost Killed Co-Star Hilary Swank While Filming P.S. I Love You

Gerard Butler looked back at the time he “slashed” Hilary Swank’s head while filming P.S. I Love You . See why he was left crying.

By Daisy Maldonado Jan 26, 2023 5:41 PMTags
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This scary movie moment definitely didn't make the final cut.

Sixteen years after the release of P.S. I Love You, Gerard Butler is reflecting on an incident that landed co-star Hilary Swank in the hospital.

"I remember saying to the director, 'I'm not going to think about myself in this movie,'" Gerard said on a Jan. 25 episode of The Drew Barrymore Show. "I'm only going to think about her. Make sure she's okay and she's cool because that's kinda how this guy was. I'm going to tell you it made the experience so much more fun when I got out of my head. Actor self-obsessed, 'How am I doing?' I actually was more so like how is she doing."

Despite his initial desire to keep Hillary happy and safe while filming, Gerard noted that things quickly went south. 

He explained to host Drew Barrymore, "She's so cool and so great to work with that I almost killed her."

Discussing a scene where he danced in boxer shorts and a pair of suspenders, Gerard explained that he was supposed to get hit in the face with a suspender clip while getting undressed, but that the metal fastener ended up hitting his co-star's head instead.

 

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"The camera people had plastic fronts to protect themselves from this crocodile clip," he said. "It was so dangerous, I had to ping it and it would go past my face."

He continued, "This time, I'm crawling towards the bed, it gets stuck, it releases, flies over my head, hits her in the head, slashes her head. I cut her open, you could even see the teeth."

Gerard said that immediately after the accident, everyone rushed to help Hillary and she was taken to the hospital.

"Literally, imagine this studio and in three seconds everybody is gone and I'm just sitting there in my boxer shorts and my boots and a pair of socks and I just started crying," he laughed. "I was like, 'I just scarred Hilary Swank. I almost took her eye out, and I just made a fool of myself for two days.'"

He added, "Talk about imposter syndrome."