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Butler gears up for 'fighting family Christmas'

Sky Cinema Gerard Butler stands in a sound booth wearing a khaki turtle neck. His mouth is slightly open looking like he is singing and his hands raised up. Sky Cinema
Gerard Butler is the voice of St. Nick in The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland

Action hero Gerard Butler's latest character role may share his bearded look, but the similarities between the two end there.

The Scot plays Santa Claus in a new TV animation, The Night Before Christmas in Wonderland.

But while St Nick is off taking care of Christmas business, Butler is looking forward to a good old festive fight - with his family.

The Paisley-born actor will be in Scotland for the holidays, something he tries to do as much as possible.

"I almost always come back. It's an important time to check in", says the 55-year-old who now lives in Los Angeles.

He believes a "good Scottish Christmas" involves seeing family and friends - then "picking up on fights where they've been left a year ago", which can lead to a few smashed glasses.

Butler is best-known for gritty action-packed roles in 300 (2006), Olympus has Fallen (2013) and Kandahar (2023) but thinks finally playing the man in the big red suit is a dream role.

He says he can retire happy. "I've finally conquered it," he says. "I'm playing Santa."

'We're going down a rabbit hole'

The film is a mash-up of Clement Clarke Moore's 'Twas The Night Before Christmas poem and Lewis Carroll's Novel, Alice in Wonderland.

It follows Santa and his reindeer into the world of Wonderland as they work to boost the Queen of Hearts' Christmas spirit with the help of Alice and the Mad Hatter.

Butler says the film "goes bonkers".

"We're going down a rabbit hole and stuff is gonna get pretty crazy".

Butler says his version of St. Nick is a bit of an idiot who just loves being Santa.

"It's awesome to make those kind of movies that you can imagine families sitting watching together at Christmas time," says Butler.

"I do think it could become a little Christmas classic".

The animation sees Butler return to his singing roots - first showcased in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of The Opera film in 2004.

He said he didn't want to overthink it and to jump straight into a 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,"

"That Scottish accent really lends itself to a dotey, kind of bombastic, fun Santa. It just seemed to work well," says Butler.

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The Sky Original film is based on the bestselling book of the same name written by Carys Bexington illustrated by Kate Hindley.

Butler's Scottish Santa is joined by other famous voices including Game of Thrones' Emilia Clarke as the Queen of Hearts and Bridgerton's Simone Ashley as Alice.

The film will be available on Sky Cinema for UK audiences on 13 December.