Johnny Hamilton said he wanted to put his hometown on the actor’s radar

Gerard Butler viewing the mural

Hollywood star Gerard Butler showing his appreciation for Johnny Hamilton’s mural

Johnny Hamilton pictured with the mural in Bangor

Gerard Butler viewing the mural

Hollywood star Gerard Butler showing his appreciation for Johnny Hamilton’s mural

A Northern Ireland artist has said he was “shocked” after Gerard Butler labelled his mural of the Hollywood star as “extraordinary” following a visit to the site in Co Down.

Johnny Hamilton created the mural on a construction board close to Bangor’s seafront as part of a daring plan to put the town on the 300 star’s radar and secure a visit.

Butler has been based in Northern Ireland for the past few months while filming the movie How To Train Your Dragon, due to be released in June 2025.

He has been spotted socialising in various spots in Belfast and appeared at Ireland’s Six Nations clash with his native Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on St Patrick’s weekend.

After Johnny had documented the progress of the mural on his Instagram account, he received a message from Butler.

“Brother, this is extraordinary. So honoured. I’ll totally swing by Bangor. But would love to meet you and say hello. You’re some artist and you seem like an awesome dude,” said the actor.

The artist said he was “shocked” to get the nod of approval.

“I was lying in bed on Sunday morning and the message came through. I’m a massive fan of his, especially 300,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.

“I wanted to get Bangor on the map, because at the minute, as much as we love it, it doesn’t really have much to offer; the seafront development has been going on for years.

“We had to think of a way to get him down, and it was actually my wife who suggested a portrait or a big mural. That bit in the seafront area is all being ripped down anyway, so the mural actually won’t last that long.”

Johnny Hamilton pictured with the mural in Bangor

Johnny and his wife are currently on a two-month trip to Australia, where they are embarking on a road trip from Sydney to Perth. The holiday has meant he unfortunately missed the opportunity to meet Butler in the flesh.

“The fact he’d said about meeting me was giving me a massive ego. I was just hoping to get a picture [of him] beside it,” he said.

“I don’t even know how I would have coped if I’d met him. I would probably have been doing the whole fanboy thing myself and not been able to speak.

“Then the crazy fans started jumping into my inbox, because I didn’t know it had happened. I had some woman declaring her undying love for Gerard and asking if I could put him in touch with her!”

Johnny said the mural wouldn’t last forever but that Bangor had a real opportunity to use street art to help regenerate the town.

“To be honest, I’m surprised something hasn’t been drawn on it already. I just wanted no one to touch it until he [Butler] came down to see it,” he said.

“Bangor needs to realise that it has so many creative people and if it can give people something to come down to, it would bring people down.

“If we were allowed gable walls to put legends of Bangor on, it could start to flourish, because street art around the world is so popular now.

“There is so much artistic talent down in Bangor and it’s about creating a space where artists can work, and then people will come to see that.”