Hugo Cabret, played by British actor Asa Maxwell Thornton Farr Butterfield in Martin Scorsese’s drama film “Hugo,” is his most well-known role. Butterfield, a native of London, started going to the Young Actors’ Theatre Islington on Friday afternoons when he was seven years old. He first appeared on TV in the 2006 television movie “After Thomas.” About a year later, he made his debut in the action drama “Son of Rambow.” He received a lot of positive reviews for his performance as Bruno, the lead character in the 2008 Holocaust drama “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.” As well as playing Norman in the fantasy movie “Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang,” he was cast as the young Mordred in the BBC series “Merlin.” Following the premiere of “Hugo,” Butterfield became one of the most accomplished and well-liked young performers on the global stage. In addition to earning him several accolades, the movie helped him land roles as Ender Wiggin in “Ender’s Game,” Nathan Ellis in “X+Y,” Jacob “Jake” Portman in “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” and Gardner Elliot in “The Space Between Us.” In addition to acting, Butterfield is a musician, a producer of music, and a co-designer of an Apple video game.
Early Childhood & Life
Sam Butterfield and Jacqueline Farr welcomed Asa Butterfield into the world on April 1, 1997, in Islington, London. Three siblings make up his family: two sisters, Loxie and Marlie, and a brother named Morgan. Butterfield was given the name “Maxwell Thornton” at birth, but on his passport, he later changed it to “Bopp” (after the Hale-Bopp comet).
He went to Stoke Newington School & Sixth Form for secondary education. On Fridays after school, he would perform at the Young Actors’ Theatre in Islington.
Career of Asa Butterfield
A casting director who was on the lookout for talent saw Asa Butterfield at the Young Actors’ Theatre in Islington when he was eight years old. In 2006, he made his acting debut in the telefilm “After Thomas.” In the movie, Butterfield portrayed the minor character Andrew.
In 2007, he contributed to the comedy “Son of Rambow,” his first feature-length project. The crime drama “Ashes to Ashes” on BBC One included him as a guest star the following year.
He portrayed one of the two main parts in Mark Herman’s “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas” in 2008; Jack Scanlon played the other. In the movie, Butterfield played Bruno, the young son of a Nazi officer who befriends Scanlon’s Shmuel, a Jewish child who had been imprisoned in a death camp, and the story was based on John Boyne’s novel of the same name. Butterfield was first noticed by the critic’s thanks to his somber, moving, and potent performance.
In 2008, he was chosen for the recurring part of Mordred in the well-known fantasy adventure series “Merlin.” In the fantasy comedic family movie “Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang,” starring Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith, and Ewan McGregor, he landed his next significant part.
In the 2013 movie “Ender’s Game,” Butterfield played Andrew “Ender” Wiggin. He gained a lot of critical acclaim for his portrayal of the hero, despite the film’s mixed to positive reviews.
Butterfield played a socially awkward English math prodigy who was chosen to represent his country at the International Mathematical Olympiad in the British movie “X+Y” (2014), which was released in the US under the title “A Brilliant Young Mind” (IMO).
He played the lead in the drama “Ten Thousand Saints” in 2015. The movie debuted on January 23 at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and also features Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld, and Emile Hirsch. He was chosen to play Jacob “Jake” Portman in the dark fantasy movie “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” the following year.
He appeared in three movies in 2017 and voiced a character in the science fiction cartoon Thunderbirds Are Go. In the romantic science fiction movie “The Space Between Us,” Butterfield played Gardner Elliot, a kid who was born and raised on Mars. He also played Sebastian Prendergast in “The House of Tomorrow” and Second Lieutenant Raleigh in the movie version of R. C. Sherriff’s play “Journey’s End.”
He will be seen in movies like “Time Freak,” “Departures,” and “Slaughterhouse Rulez.”
In 2004, Butterfield created a mashup of the Wheatus and XTC tracks “Teenage Dirtbag” and “Making Plans For Nigel.” He collaborated with his father and brother on the turn-based iPad video game “Racing Blind,” which was launched in April 2013.
Bigger Works of Asa Butterfield
For his part in the 2011 epic historical adventure movie “Hugo,” Asa Butterfield is well known. Hugo (Butterfield) lives alone at the Gare Montparnasse train station in Paris in the 1930s after his father dies in the movie, which is based on Brian Selznick’s book “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.” Butterfield’s performance was praised by the critics, and he also took home many honors.
Recognition & Achievements
Asa Butterfield was nominated for a British Independent Film Award in 2008 for “Most Promising Newcomer” for “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas,” however Dev Patel (of “Slumdog Millionaire”) ultimately won the award. Butterfield was also a nominee for Young British Performer of the Year at the London Film Critics Circle Awards for the same role.
He received the Young Hollywood Award for Male Breakthrough Performance for “Hugo.” In addition, the movie earned him the 2012 NFCS Award for Best Child Actor as well as the Sierra Award for Youth in Film at the 2011 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards ceremony.
In 2013 and 2014, Butterfield won the CinemaCon Rising Star Award and the Savannah Film Festival Rising Star Award, respectively.
Individual Life of Asa Butterfield
Formerly, Asa Butterfield was dating Ella Purnell, an additional English actress. They started dating in 2015, but it was over very quickly. He is rumored to be dating Bulgarian-Canadian actress Nina Dobrev right now, however, neither side has officially confirmed this.
Facts of Asa Butterfield
Butterfield is a fervent admirer of the football team Arsenal.
Asa Butterfield’s Net Worth
An English actor named Asa Butterfield has a $5 million dollar net worth. Asa Butterfield was raised in Islington, London, England, and started acting while still in elementary school by participating in Young Actors Theatre shows. In the 2006 television film “After Thomas,” he made his formal on-camera debut. Since then, he has made appearances in both film and television projects in guest-starring, co-starring, and headlining roles. “Ashes to Ashes” and “Merlin” are only a couple of the TV shows he has appeared in. Son of Rambow, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The Wolfman, Nanny McPhee, and the Big Bang, Hugo, and most recently “Ender’s Game” are just a few of the movies he has worked on. Aside from the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actor, he has been nominated for many other acting prizes. The White Circus and “X Plus Y” are his next films.