While the movie 300 depicted brutal conflicts on screen, Gerard Butler recalled how the cast experienced their own intense battles every day on set.

What happened to Gerard Butler while filming 300?

While speaking to People, Butler spoke about his experience filming 300, Zack Snyder‘s epic war film set during the Greco-Persian Wars. Butler explained how the depiction of these extreme fight scenes led to so many injuries that required hospitalization.

“I remember every day somebody was getting taken to the hospital,” Butler said. “You’d be doing a fight, you turn around, there’s a guy down there, a spear went in his eye. Another time, you turn around, there’s a guy over there who just fell, broke his ankle. I mean, it was insane.”

In the film, Butler plays Leonidas, the King of Sparta, who leads 300 soldiers to battle against over 300,000 Persian forces. Released in 2006, 300 became a smash hit, grossing $456 million worldwide against a $65 million budget. The success helped launch Butler’s career as an action star, which is still prominent today.

Later in the interview, Butler described some of his worst injuries suffered on sets. While surfing in 2012’s Chasing Mavericks, Butler almost drowned.

“I thought I was done,” Butler said. “They had to take me out, take me to hospital, put me out, give me the defibrillator. I mean, it was intense.”

While filming 2007’s Butterfly on a Wheel, Butler said his co-star, Pierce Brosnan, drove him straight into a wall and damaged his neck.

“We hit a wall on a rooftop, 3-foot-high wall, full speed, in a Range Rover,” Butler said. “It destroyed my neck, and it was after 300. I was already so beaten up in 300.”

Even with all of these battle wounds, Butler said he “wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Butler’s latest action movie, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, is now in theaters.

(Source: People)