This is the first footage (posted below) of the frightening moment Gerard Butler came close to losing his life while filming his latest movie.
Butler was seriously injured while filming the surfing drama Chasing Mavericks in 2011 and shared the footage of the incident on Monday’s “Good Morning America”.
The video shows him paddling on his board and a huge wave can be seen crashing over Butler’s head, leaving him trapped beneath the water for almost a minute.
As the Scottish star watched the footage, he said: “That’s crazy. Even when I see that it brings back memories.”
Butler recently spoke out how the incident lead him to seek treatment– the 42-year-old actor checked into the Betty Ford Centre in February for three weeks.
“Maybe a stronger person wouldn’t have needed to go. But I’m glad I did it,” he revealed.
He also strongly denied that he went to rehab for a battle with alcoholism.
“I haven’t had a drink in 15 years,” he told Men’s Journal. He added that after the accident, he had “visceral’ flashbacks” and his mind ended up in a place where he “didn’t want it to be.”
“I’ve made a s***load of wrong decisions in my life,” he added. ”But I know I’ve made some right ones as well.”
[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jD_ZTviizCY']
What do you think?