For the most part, the cast of the live-action How to Train Your Dragon is different from the animated movies. However, there’s one actor who returned to reprise the role he originated in the animated movie, and that’s Gerard Butler. In this iteration of Hiccup’s story that’s about to premiere on the 2025 movie schedule, Butler is back to play his father, Stoick. While that alone is exciting, it became even more meaningful when he got candid about how he would have probably “picked apart” someone else’s performance if he didn't get to play Stoick.
When CinemaBlend’s Jeff McCobb interviewed Butler ahead of How to Train Your Dragon’s premiere, he noted that the actor almost didn’t play Stoick. Due to scheduling issues, it wasn’t initially going to work out. Then, the strikes happened, and a window opened up. So, he was able to do it. Thinking about all that, McCobb asked the Den of Thieves actor if he would have felt bitter or empty or felt a sense of longing if someone else played Hiccup’s dad.
In response, the actor said:
Yeah, that’s a good question, actually. I don't know if I would say bitterness, at least not on camera. But I would have been sad. Definitely sad. And probably have picked apart whoever played it, you know, being like, ‘That's good, but I would have…’ It's just like in the movie, you know, when Hiccup comes out, he pulls the knife and I go, ‘I’d have chosen the hammer.’ I’d probably been like that.
I can’t say I blame him here! The first and beloved How to Train Your Dragon movie came out in 2010, and it was followed by two more sequels in 2014 and 2019 (all of which you can stream with a Peacock subscription). So, Butler has been with Stoick for 15 years, and I totally understand that he feels a very strong connection to the character.
Plus, he’s the perfect age to play Stoick. Obviously, actors like Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera couldn’t return to play Hiccup and Astrid because they would be too old for the parts. So, casting 17-year-old Mason Thames as Hiccup and 20-year-old Nico Parker as Astrid made a lot more sense. However, for the adult characters, like Stoick specifically, they could ask the actor who played him to return.
So, yeah, if I were him, I likely would have “picked apart” another actor’s performance too. As Butler said, it’d be hard not to judge someone else's performance of the character you portrayed, especially when you played such a big role in shaping the character in the first place.
On top of that, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon has been dubbed a “loving homage” to the animated movie. Having seen it, I can also confirm it recreates everything you know and love from the 2010 film. So, if someone else had played Stoick, and Butler had to watch him play out the same story, it would have been hard not to hyperfixate on the choices made.
However, thankfully, we don’t live in a universe where that happened. Gerard Butler was able to play Stoick once again, and this time he actually got to don that iconic beard! Clearly, he had a blast in the new How to Train Your Dragon, and it was so fun to not only hear him as the fearless chief of Berk but see him in costume and really walking around this world of dragons.
Now, you can see Gerard Butler as Stoick once again when How to Train Your Dragon hits theaters on June 13.
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