To say that Asa Butterfield enjoys taking on complex movie roles would be an understatement. On Nov. 1, the British actor will again display the magnitude of his acting ability in the sci-fi adventure Ender’s Game.
Butterfield began acting at the age of eight in his local after-school drama club, The Young Actors Theatre in Islington, London.
He was spotted by a casting director intrigued by his acting talent.
His first few roles were in the television movie After Thomas, the film Son of Rambow and a guest spot on the television series Ashes to Ashes.
His track record of confounding roles began in the acclaimed film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Butterfield starred as Bruno, the innocent son of a concentration camp commandant, who forms a forbidden bond with a Jewish boy on the other side of the fence.
Later on, Butterfield had several small on-screen roles until he stunned audiences once more in the five-time Oscar winner Hugo as the title character.
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Hugo is set in 1930s Paris and revolves around an orphan living in the walls of a train station.
Now the gifted actor is coming back to theaters, and this time, he is the last hope for survival.
Ender’s Game, based on the New York Times best-seller by Orson Scott Card, takes place 70 years after a tragic alien war. Ender Wiggin, played by Butterfield, is noticed for his advanced potential and sent to a superior military school in space to prepare for a future invasion.
Alongside Butterfield is a star-studded cast including Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis and Abigail Breslin. It’s up to Butterfield to defend us all.
Sammi Brennan can be reached at samantha.brennan@spartans.ut.edu