Asa Bopp Farr Butterfield ( ; born 1 April 1997) is an English actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, he first achieved recognition as the lead of the historical drama film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008). He continued to headline films during the 2010s, starring in the adventure drama Hugo (2011), the science-fiction film Ender's Game (2013), the drama X+Y (2014), the fantasy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016) and the romantic science-fiction The Space Between Us (2017). From 2019 to 2023, Butterfield portrayed the lead of the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education.

Background Asa Bopp Farr Butterfield was born on 1 April 1997 in Islington, London, and is the son of Jacqueline "Jake" Farr, a psychologist, and Sam Butterfield, an advertising copywriter. He is named after the comet Hale-Bopp. He was educated at Stoke Newington School in Stoke Newington, London.

Career Butterfield started acting at age seven at the Young Actors Theatre Islington in Islington. Later, he secured minor roles in After Thomas, a 2006 television drama, and the 2007 film Son of Rambow.

In 2008, he had a guest role playing Donny in the television series Ashes to Ashes. Also in 2008, at 10, Butterfield 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 Herman 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". Herman and producer David Heyman 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 conclusion of the film.

Butterfield beat hundreds of boys and also successfully passed the auditions for a role in Mr. Nobody, for which he auditioned at the same time. He elected not to pursue the latter role. In 2008, he portrayed Mordred in the Merlin episode "The Beginning of the End"; he appeared as Mordred in a number of subsequent episodes. In 2010, he had a small part in The Wolfman. He starred as Norman Green in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010). The film and his performance received positive reviews. At age 13, Butterfield played the main and titular character in Martin Scorsese's Hugo, adapted from the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo was released on 23 November 2011 and achieved critical success. He portrayed the title role of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin in the film adaptation of the Orson Scott Card novel Ender's Game. The film was released in 2013.

After the shooting of Ender's Game, Butterfield was cast in coming of age British drama X+Y as Nathan Ellis, a mathematical savant on the autism spectrum selected to compete in an internationally renowned mathematics competition. The film premiered on 5 September 2014 at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. His performance received widespread critical acclaim and he was nominated for the BIFA for Best Actor. In 2015, Butterfield appeared in a film adaptation of Ten Thousand Saints. In 2016, he portrayed Jacob Portman in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. He starred as Gardner Elliot in the film The Space Between Us and as Sebastian in The House of Tomorrow in 2017. In 2018, he was cast in the main role of Otis Milburn on the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education. The series was released on 11 January 2019 to critical acclaim. The second season was released on 17 January 2020, the third on 17 September 2021, and the fourth and final season on 21 September 2023.

In July 2024, he was cast as Adam in Carnival: At the End of Days, an unreleased film. He portrays Solomon in the film Our Hero, Balthazar, which received acclaim in early reviews ahead of a wide release. He was specifically lauded for his performance by The Austin Chronicle and The Hollywood Reporter.

Other ventures Butterfield enjoys making and producing music; he released a mashup of the songs "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus and "Making Plans for Nigel" by XTC. Along with his brother, he is part of a music group called Mambo Fresh. In late 2012, Butterfield co-designed a turn-based video game for iPad with his father and brother called Racing Blind. The game was released to App Store on 7 April 2013.

Butterfield is involved in competitive Nintendo gaming. In 2017, he competed in the Nintendo World Championships, where he was eliminated early in the invitational. He is an enthusiastic player of competitive Super Smash Bros. and signed with esports team Panda Global, under the tag "Stimpy". His first appearance with the organisation was at Genesis 6. In October 2020, he was signed by Team Liquid.

Since 2017, Butterfield has taught an annual acting masterclass at The Reel Scene acting school in London. The three-day "Asa Butterfield Masterclass" course covers improvisation techniques and students work on scenes from Butterfield's films, which are then filmed on the last day. In 2018, students appeared as extras in the film Greed in which Butterfield appeared.

In 2023, Butterfield played in the annual Soccer Aid charity football match, raising money for UNICEF. Butterfield, a lifelong Arsenal fan, scored England's opening goal assisted by former Arsenal player Jack Wilshere.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2007 Son of Rambow Brethren Boy 2008 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Bruno 2010 Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang Norman Green The Wolfman Younger Ben Talbot 2011 Hugo Hugo Cabret 2013 Ender's Game Ender Wiggin 2014 X+Y Nathan Ellis Also known as A Brilliant Young Mind 2015 Ten Thousand Saints Jude Keffy-Horn 2016 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Jacob "Jake" Portman 2017The House of Tomorrow Sebastian Prendergast Journey's End Jimmy Raleigh The Space Between Us Gardner Elliot 2018 Then Came You Calvin Lewis Time Freak Stillman Slaughterhouse Rulez Willoughby Blake 2019 Greed Finn McCreadie 2022 Choose or Die Isaac Flux Gourmet Billy Rubin Your Christmas or Mine? Hubert James Hughes 2023 All Fun and Games Marcus Fletcher Your Christmas or Mine 2 James 2025 Our Hero, Balthazar Solomon Stitch Head Stitch Head (voice) 2026 Rogue Trooper

Television Year Title Role Notes Ref 2006 After Thomas Andrew Television film 2008 Ashes to Ashes Donny 1 episode (season 1) 2008–2009 Merlin Mordred 3 episodes 2017 Thunderbirds Are Go Space Controller Conrad (voice) 1 episode 2019–2023 Sex Education Otis Milburn Main role 2020 50 States of Fright Brandon Boyd 3 episodes2026Unchosen Adam2026Gnomes Arnold KippsTV series

Theatre Year Title Role Venue Notes2025 Second Best Martin Hill Riverside Studios

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2024 Hades II Icarus

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2008 British Independent Film Awards Most Promising Newcomer The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas 2009 NSPCC AwardsYoung British Performer of the YearThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in an International Feature Film – Leading Young PerformersThe Boy in the Striped Pyjamas2012Critics' Choice Movie AwardsBest Young PerformerHugo Empire AwardsBest Male NewcomerHugo Saturn AwardsBest Performance by a Younger ActorHugo Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor Hugo Young Hollywood AwardsBreakthrough Performance – MaleHugo2013Critics' Choice Movie AwardsBest Young PerformerEnder's Game Washington DC Area Film Critics Association AwardsBest Youth Performance Ender's Game 2014British Independent Film AwardsBest ActorX+YSaturn AwardsBest Performance by a Younger ActorEnder's Game2015National Film Awards UKBest ActorX+Y2017Teen Choice AwardsChoice Fantasy Movie ActorMiss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children Choice Sci-Fi Movie ActorThe Space Between Us 2020Newport Beach Film FestivalArtist of DistinctionSex EducationNME AwardsBest TV Actor — 2022British Independent Film AwardsBest Ensemble Flux GourmetNational Comedy AwardsOutstanding Comedy ActorSex Education

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