Los Angeles, Oct 27 (IANS): Actor Gerard Butler acts like a commander on the set while working on a film, says director Donovan Marsh.

Marsh worked with Butler in submarine thriller "Hunter Killer".

"He's still the action guy who makes it all happen, but he does it from a position of authority rather than being the guy out there pulling the trigger," Marsh said in a statement to IANS.

"It required Gerry to contain his performance in a different way, which he did absolutely beautifully. He invested himself so strongly, that you would regularly see 20 or 30 actors on set responding to him like a real commander. You believed him that much," he added.

"Hunter Killer" is adapted from Don Keith and George Wallace's 2012 novel "Firing Point". Butler plays a submarine captain on a mission to rescue the Russian president and avoid World War 3 by firing torpedoes at everything in sight.

Brought to India by PVR Pictures and MVP Entertainment, it released in India on Friday.