The next installment of Gerard Butler's Mike Banning action films hits theaters today (August 23), called Angel Has Fallen. The first two films — Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen — are pretty formulaic, with the respective city’s leader in threat and secret service agent Banning stepping in to save the day.

This time around, Banning is framed and setup to look like he’s the one who made an attempt on the life of the U.S. President (Morgan Freeman). Butler describes the situation in an interview with A.V. Club, saying, "When the whole world turns against him. When everyone loses belief in you. You just gotta have that bit of belief in yourself."

After doing some very serious, scientific research, i.e. Googling, it turns out some people aren't necessarily cheering for the actor himself. But, you know what, we are. Here are 7 reasons we believe in Mike Banning Gerard Butler:

1. He says it how it is. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1NQ_pvlNx0

The A.V. Club points out to Butler that Mike Banning probably shouldn't have survived three films. And, Butler concedes, agreeing his injuries were pretty severe. He talks about the process going into Angel, saying, "We thought what an interesting thing to do, to stop going, 'You know, he's just invincible.' That's almost comic book style. He's not. He's a real human being. He's very good at what he does. But when you get shot, you have scars, and they're long lasting issues from that." We like how he handles a straightforward question with a clear-cut answer. Many would just dodge...

2. He's versatile. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvsZtGxsvV0

One of the reasons Butler is a fan favorite is because he's able to step into different genres. If action isn't quite your thing, then bring on the rom-com. He went from heading a mega movie like 2006's 300, playing King Leonidas, to sharing the spotlight in the 2009 rom-com The Ugly Truth with Katherine Heigl. And if rom-coms aren't your thing, then how about a thriller like 2008's The Vanishing.

3. He has endurance. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4RL92QMGrg

Gerard's first on-screen credit was in the 1997 period drama Mrs. Brown, starring opposite Dame Judi Dench. He took on the role of Archie Brown, which you can take a peek at in the above clip. That's not a bad way to start off an acting career, but the pressure could get to someone. Where does one go from there? The short answer, he went on to appear in the 1997 James Bond installment Tomorrow Never Dies. We wouldn't quite say he starred, as his character didn't have a name and was referred to as "Leading Seaman," but it still counts. One of his earliest standout roles was in 2003's Lara Croft: Tom Radar, opposite Angelina Jolie, gaining the attention of a global audience. He's been a working actor for 20 years and counting... and he's still going strong.

4. He has a fun side. 

https://twitter.com/wearethemighty/status/1052266702078005248?lang=ga

He's a full-fledged grown man but still has that boyish charm. When he sat down to play Battleship — yes, as in, "You sank my battleship!!" — across from an actual Navy veteran, his fun side shone through. Oh, and there was some friendly competition thrown in, too.

5. He has a nice accent. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwhdtlxEU0g

And, this being Anglophenia and all, we should point out, we really appreciate hearing him speak with his native Scottish accent. In 2015, British Airways ran a poll of the most appealing accents, and the winner was... Glaswegian. Butler is from Paisley, Scotland, which is about 30 minutes from Glasgow. In other words: it's not just us. In the above clip, he chats about the ease of using his own accent when playing a soccer dad in the 2012 family film Playing for Keeps.

6. He has a good sense of humor. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6-mEXRdP8I

He swung by Jimmy Kimmel Live! to chat about 2018's Den of Thieves. Slightly out of the blue, he burst out, "I find myself at Barbara Streisand concerts!?" Then went on to declare, "I like to surprise people!!" using his hands to make a wiggly sign. He definitely surprised us when he went on to tell the story about running into Barbra Streisand after he forgot to call her. He could barely get through his own story because he was giggling so hard. It's probably best to listen to him tell the story himself, Babs impression and all, in the above video.

7. He's appreciative. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BqDOMy5Fz69/?utm_source=ig_embed

Sadly, Butler lost his home in the 2017 Malibu fires, as many people did and are still rebuilding, and prior to that he suffered through a motorcycle accident. He recently opened up about the struggles, saying, "These last two years, they were interesting and hard… a lot of stuff happened like the fire, motorcycle accident, other stuff went on, and a lot of it happened very close together and it just made me reevaluate." He gets what's important in life and that doesn't necessarily translate into breaking box office records. But, that's nice, too.

We're cheering for you Gerard Butler!! What about you guys — is he still on your watch list??