Los Angeles City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said Butler faces up to six months in jail if convicted.
Mateljan said the Scottish-born actor had a run-in with a photographer early on Oct. 7 in Hollywood after leaving a premiere party for the film "RocknRolla."
Butler's manager, Alan Siegel, said that the actor was forced to have his driver stop the car after a paparazzo repeatedly sped through red lights and almost struck two pedestrians.
The actor's attorney, Blair Berk, said Butler is not required to - and won't - appear in court on the charge.
Butler, 39, is perhaps best-known for his role in 2006's hit "300," and starred in "RocknRolla." Butler's next big screen release will be this summer's "The Ugly Truth," a romantic comedy also starring Katherine Heigl.
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