14 DAY TRIAL // Actor Gerard Butler had a near-death experience on the set of “Of Men and Mavericks” in California. He's currently in hospital after being rescued at sea, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Fans of the talented actor must already know that he's been working on the film for quite some time. He's also a fan of surfing, having been repeatedly photographed on holidays indulging in said sporting activity.
The latest mishap occurred as he was shooting scenes for the movie, when a set of waves took him and others by surprise, People magazine reports.
“Gerard Butler was pulled underwater and dragged over a rocky reef Sunday by a large set of waves while he was filming the surfing movie Of Men and Mavericks in Northern California,” the celebrity publication says.
He was rescued by a safety patrolman and was rushed to the Stanford Medical Center “dazed but not seriously injured,” says the same media outlet.
“[Butler] had that 100-yard stare that surfers get after a two-wave hold-down or near-death experience,” ESPN says of the state of the star after the accident.
He was not alone when it happened: surfer Zach Wormhoudt was shooting a scene with him. It was him who told the media that a set of waves caught them both off guard, throwing Butler completely off balance and into the rocks.
While People claims the incident was nothing to worry about, the Daily Mail has a rather different story: Gerard was pulled underwater and was then hit over the hit by other surfers.
The British tabloid claims the star was thrown off his board, remaining under water for two consecutive waves.
When he finally emerged, he was hit over the head several times by the other surfers, says the tab.
Luckily, he wasn't injured too severely.
“He is totally fine, they held him for observation. But he has been cleared and he is ok,” his rep tells the Mail in the briefest of brief statements.