You could say Gerard Butler was practically born to play the role of a soccer player in the new film Playing for Keeps.
After all, he grew up in Scotland, which has one of the oldest national football associations in the world.
And naturally, he went to a lot of games and kicked the ball around "every second" he had, he says.
"I played in the morning before school, I played in the morning break, I played at lunchtime, the afternoon break and after school, I played for the school team. I played with boys' clubs and I just loved to play," Butler said during a recent stop in Toronto.
"It was actually my dream to be a soccer player, but in truth, I knew I never would be one.
"I was good - but I wasn't that good."
Butler, who co-produced the film, said he started kicking around the ball with soccer coaches about two months before cameras began rolling to refresh his fancy footwork.
The experience brought him back to one of his most powerful memories: when he won a game as a kid in Paisley, Scotland.
"I think [despite] all the highs that I've had as an actor - and I've had a lot - if you were to ask me what was one of the most exciting moments of my life, it was literally scoring a goal for my school team when I was nine years old in a cup game in front of our whole school," said the 43-year-old.
"For some reason, our whole school had got let out to see the end of this game, and it was the most exciting game and we ended up winning 5-4, I think. I scored three goals in it and then the fifth goal was such a scramble in the goal ... and it just somehow crossed the line and I ran over and hugged every person in the line.
"That day, I was the biggest hero on the planet - at least I was in my book - and that intensity, you don't match that in many other arenas of life."
The beginning of Playing for Keeps shows Butler's character playing professional soccer in front of adoring sell-out crowds in massive stadiums.
Those scenes were shot indoors and created with special effects, but Butler did eventually get the chance to experience the real thing: In the summer, he played for Celtic in a charity match against Manchester United - in front of 60,000 people.
"Oh my God, the best moment of my life," said Butler.
"My whole family were there and even they say it was probably the best moments of their life as well."
