Gerard Butler: 'I thought I'd killed my aunt!'

Gerard Butler thought his aunt had died at one of his premieres.

The 46-year-old actor is known for starring in action movies, with the most recent being London Has Fallen - the sequel to 2013's Olympus Has Fallen. Gerard took his two aunts as his guests to the premiere of Olympus Has Fallen, but it was a dramatic evening for all the wrong reasons.

Due to running late, his aunts didn't have time to eat before heading to the screening, Gerard explained during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden on Thursday night (03Mar16).

"Then we're in the middle of Olympus (Has Fallen) and my brother is sitting in front of me," he explained. "Halfway through the movie he stands up and says, 'Gerry, Aunt May isn't feeling well'. And I can straight away tell this doesn't look good. So she starts walking up, I walk behind her, we get outside and immediately I go, 'She's really not well'. Somebody brings a seat over and she sits down and I go, 'Aunt May, are you ok?' And she goes, 'Aha, ha', and then she just… stops… like living!

"I'm holding her hand looking at her and she goes (mimes blank expression). I'm holding her hand, my brother's standing behind me, I'm looking at my brother and we're like, 'Aunt May just died!' And my Aunt Kathleen is walking up and down going, 'Oh Christ, May what happened?' And for about a minute she was just like (blank). I take her pulse, there's no pulse, she's not breathing, and then finally she goes (Exhale). It turns out she had just fainted but because none of us had the common sense to put her head down, she's just sitting there, the blood draining down. We were so convinced she was dead. All I was thinking was, 'This is my aunt, and I've killed her!'"

After getting checked out by medics, Gerard's aunt was given the all clear. She proved she was back to full health at the premiere after party, where she showed off her moves on the dancefloor.

"The ambulance came, they took her, they checked her, said she was fine, she just needed to eat, she goes to the party, she has some food and my two aunts end up dancing with my friends," he laughed.

Gerard has starred in romantic comedies in the past, such as P.S. I Love You in 2007, but has become known for his action movies in recent years.

However, he admits his mother Margaret prefers the softer films he stars in.

"My mum gets a little freaked out (watching those films) because I'm taking too many people down or I'm getting hurt," he laughed.