Gerard Butler packs some paunch on his Barbados holiday

London: Only three years ago actor Gerard Butler was the hunky Spartan whose rippling torso in film `300` that caused a frenzy among millions of women.

But now he seems to have succumbed to the calorific excesses of the festive season and alarmingly piled on the pounds, Daily Mail online reported. Butler, 40, was snapped on the beach in Barbados yesterday enjoying a warm and sunny start to the New Year after spending the Christmas period skiing in Aspen and a cold New Year`s Eve in New York. But long gone is the taut and toned abdomen he showed off with pride in the film `300`, and in its place is a flabby big belly that hung over his swimming shorts. It was certainly a far cry from his role as muscular Spartan King Leonidas in `300`, the film adaptation of the graphic novel, in which Gerard`s Leonidas go to war against the Persians. Gerard will be soon gearing himself up for work again, with the release of his new film starring Jennifer Aniston `The Bounty Hunter`, which is set to hit theatres on March 19. The pair, who were romantically linked while shooting the film, play a former married couple who are reunited after Gerard`s bounty hunter character learns that his next target is his journalist ex-wife, played by Aniston. PTI