Hollywood star Gerard Butler increased his security team at the Toronto Film Festival over the weekend after receiving death threats.

The 300 star has been promoting his role in controversial movie Machine Gun Preacher, a true-life story based on a Hells Angel who rescues orphans in Muslim-dominant Sudan after converting to Christianity.

Butler was forced to hire more bodyguards when he took to the red carpet at the Canadian festival after reportedly receiving a string of threatening messages.

A source tells Scotland's Daily Record, "It is quite a controversial subject and some people are upset by the strong religious theme. We are treating this matter seriously."