Asa Butterfield
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Asa Butterfield
| Asa Butterfield | |
|---|---|
 Butterfield at the Hugo premiere, New York City, 21 November 2011 |
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| Born | Asa Maxwell Thornton F. Butterfield 1 April 1997 Islington, London, UK |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Asa Maxwell Thornton Farr Butterfield[1][2] (born 1 April 1997) is an English actor, best known for starring in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), playing Norman in the 2010 film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, and taking the title role in Martin Scorsese's 2011 fantasy Hugo. He will also be portraying Ender Wiggin in the upcoming film adaptation of the science fiction novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.[3]
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Life and career
Asa Butterfield was born in Islington, London, the son of Jacqueline Farr and Sam Butterfield.[4][5] He has an older brother, Morgan, who is a drummer for the English bands Oats and Underneath the Tallest Tree, and a younger sister, Loxie. Asa has said that he is just as happy reading a book as playing computer games and tries not to let his acting dominate his whole life.
Butterfield first started acting at the age of 7 on Friday afternoons after school at the Young Actors' Theatre, in his hometown. Later, he secured minor roles in the 2006 television drama After Thomas and the 2007 film Son of Rambow.[4][6] In 2008 he also had a guest role playing Donny in Ashes to Ashes.[7][8]
In that same year, he played the lead role in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Director Mark Herman said that they came across Butterfield early on in the audition process. He was on the first audition tape he received and he was the third hopeful he met in person. Herman thought Butterfield's performance was outstanding, but only decided to cast him after auditioning hundreds of other boys, "so no stone was left unturned".[9]
Producer David Heyman and director Mark Herman were looking for someone who was able to portray the main character's innocence, so they asked each of the children what they knew about the Holocaust. Butterfield's knowledge was slim and it was purposely kept that way throughout filming so it would be easier for him to convey his character's innocence. The final scenes of the film were shot at the end of the production period to prepare both him and Jack Scanlon for the dramatic ending of the film.[10][11] He beat hundreds of boys to the role and also successfully passed the auditions for a role in Mr. Nobody for which he auditioned at the same time. He chose not to pursue the latter role.[6]
In the 2008 Merlin episode "The Beginning of the End", he plays a young druid boy sentenced to death by Uther Pendragon because he feels threatened by the boy's magic. Despite the Great Dragon's advice and the warning that Arthur cannot survive if the boy does, Merlin and Arthur, with the help of Morgana, help the boy escape to rejoin the Druids. When they are about to disappear into the forest, Arthur asks him for his name, which he says is Mordred,[12] an important character from the Arthurian legends who is supposed to kill King Arthur. Butterfield has appeared as Mordred in subsequent episodes.
In 2010, he appeared alongside Anthony Hopkins in The Wolfman.[13] He starred as Norman Green in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010), working together with Emma Thompson. The film received positive reviews along with his performance. He subsequently played the main character, Hugo Cabret, in Martin Scorsese's 3-D film Hugo, which was filmed from June 2010 to January 2011. It was released on 23 November 2011.
Awards
Butterfield was nominated in the category "Most Promising Newcomer" of the British Independent Film Awards,[14][15] but he was beaten by Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire.[16] He was also nominated for the NSPCC Award (Young British Performer of the Year) in the London Critics Circle Film Awards,[17][18] but he missed out on this award too. It was won by Thomas Turgoose for his roles in Eden Lake and Somers Town.[19] MTV Networks' NextMovie.com named him one of the 'Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011'.[20] He was nominated for "Best Young Actor/Actress" for the CCMAS, and lost out to Thomas Horn.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | After Thomas | Andrew |
| 2007 | Son of Rambow | Brethren Boy |
| 2008 | Ashes to Ashes | Donny (episode 1.6) |
| The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | Bruno | |
| 2008–2009 | Merlin | Mordred (episodes 1.8, 2.3 & 2.11) |
| 2010 | The Wolfman | Younger Ben Talbot |
| 2010 | Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang | Norman Green |
| 2011 | Hugo | Hugo Cabret |
| 2013 | Ender's Game | Ender Wiggin |
Awards
| Year | Result | Award | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Nominated[14][15] | British Independent Film Award | Most Promising Newcomer | The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas |
| 2009 | Nominated[17][18] | London Critics Circle Film Awards | NSPCC Award (Young British Performer of the Year) | |
| 2011 | Won[21] | Las Vegas Film Critics Society | Best Youth in Film | Hugo |
| 2012 | Nominated | Empire Awards | Best Young Actor/Actress | |
| 2012 | Nominated[22] | Broadcast Film Critics Association | Best Young Actor/Actress | |
| 2012 | Nominated[23] | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor |
References
- ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.; at ancestry.com
- ^ http://www.wilsonpost.com/blogs/ask-ken-beck/7190-singer-phil-collins-could-have-been-a-bugaloo
- ^ Sneider, Jeff (2011-11-29). "Asa Butterfield locks 'Ender's Game'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118046778?categoryid=13&cs=1&cmpid=RSS.
- ^ a b "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Production Notes". Miramax Films. 2008. http://www.visualhollywood.com/movies_2008/boy_in_striped_pyjamas/cast.php. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ Clarke, Cath (22 July 2010). "Act your age: the new wave of high-powered child stars". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/jul/22/new-child-actors-jaden-smith-chloe-moretz.
- ^ a b "Star Interview: Asa Butterfield". TVhits.co.uk. http://www.tvhits.co.uk/star_interview_arc.php?id=212. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ "Ashes to Ashes: Series 1, Episode 6". BBC Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/ashestoashes/episodes/s1_ep6_episode.shtml. Retrieved 20 January 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Davies, Janet (23 October 2008). "Janet's Spotlight: "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas"". ABC 7 News. http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources&id=6464390. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ "The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – Casting the characters". Last Broadcast. http://www.lastbroadcast.co.uk/movies/v/5698-the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas-casting-the-characters.html. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ Carnevale, Rob. "The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – Mark Herman and David Heyman interview". indieLondon. http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/the-boy-in-the-striped-pyjamas-mark-herman-and-david-heyman-interview. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ "Pajama Drama". The Irish Times. 1 June 2007. http://www.johnboyne.com/articles/Pajama%20Drama.pdf. Retrieved 23 January 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Programmes: Merlin, The Beginning of the End". BBC One. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00ffv90. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ Maher, Kevin (30 August 2008). "Meet the child stars of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article4618434.ece. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
- ^ a b "Hunger dominates nominations for British Independent Film Awards". Metro.co.uk. 28 October 2008. http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/films/article.html?Hunger_dominates_nominations_for_British_Independent_Film_Awards&in_article_id=376520&in_page_id=27. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ a b Foley, Jack. "British Independent Film Awards 2008: Nominations in full". IndieLondon. http://www.indielondon.co.uk/Film-Review/british-independent-film-awards-2008-nominations-in-full. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ Hoyle, Ben (1 December 2008). "Slumdog Millionaire wins at British Independent Film Awards". The Times Online (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article5263820.ece. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ a b Child, Ben (19 December 2008). "Slumdog Millionaire leads London critics' nominations". The Guardian (UK). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/dec/19/london-critics-circle-awards. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Nominations for London Film Critics' Awards held in aid of NSPCC" (Press release). NSPCC. 18 December 2008. http://www.nspcc.org.uk/whatwedo/mediacentre/pressreleases/2008_18_december_nominations_for_london_film_critics'_awards_held_in_aid_of_nspcc_wdn62533.html. Retrieved 20 January 2009.
- ^ Thomas, Archie (4 February 2009). "londonloves 'Wrestler,' 'Slumdog'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/VR1117999560.html. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
- ^ Evry, Max (5 January 2011). "25 Breakout Stars to Watch for in 2011". Next Movie. http://www.nextmovie.com/blog/breakout-movie-stars-of-2011/. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
- ^ "2011 Sierra Award winners". http://www.lvfcs.org/lvfcs/2011.html. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ "17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards (2012)". http://www.criticschoice.com/movie-awards/17th-annual-critics-choice-movie-awards-2012/. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ "33rd Annual Young Artist Awards". YoungArtistAwards.org. http://www.youngartistawards.org/noms33.html. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
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