From School to Scorsese: Asa Butterfield Shares His Advice for Aspiring Actors
Modest, ambitious, and down-to-earth, at 20 Asa Butterfield already has an astonishing filmography behind him, including lead roles in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (2011), Morgan Matthews’ X+Y (2014) and Tim Burton’s magical Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016).
Following his starring role in Peter Chelsom’s interplanetary adventure The Space Between Us released earlier this year, Asa Butterfield has an exciting year ahead to include the release of the film adaptation of R C Sherriff’s seminal WW1 play Journey’s End in which he plays Raleigh. He’s worked with Harrison Ford, Emma Thompson and Samuel L. Jackson among many others and now he’s looking to help others who may be looking to do the same.
Asa is extremely passionate about helping aspiring actors progress in their careers and will be taking time out of his filming schedule to host a three-day masterclass with The Reel Scene.
In anticipation of the event, he recently shared his advice for actors who may be looking to rethink the way they approach reading scripts and acting as an industry.
Speaking frankly in his exclusive interview with The Reel Scene, Asa opened up about his acting processes, his passion for film and the journey that has taken his from his after school drama classes in Islington to winning some of the choicest roles in Hollywood.
Here are just a few of Asa Butterfield’s tips
How do you prepare for an audition?
“I usually start by breaking the scene down into digestible chunks so I can track where the changes are, where the important moments in the scene are and then piece it all together at the end.”
Do you review your work and question choices you’ve made?
“As an actor, you’re naturally very critical of your own work. Every actor I’ve met is that way and doesn’t really enjoy watching themselves. It’s not easy to review your work and it’s definitely not a skill I’ve particularly mastered yet. You tend to judge yourself harshly. Surround yourself with the right people and there will always be someone to help you critique your work.
How important is networking?
“Incredibly important. Networking is a means of meeting new people, getting introduced to more new people, getting recommended, getting to read more scripts. In this industry, getting to have that reach and communicate with lots of people means everything.”
From the big screen to The Reel Scene
Of The Reel Scene Masterclass, Asa Butterfield said:
“We’re working on a masterclass where I’ll be working with a group of actors. I’ll be there to help them, to answer their questions, to share the things that I’ve learned and hopefully have some fun!”
Follow the link for the full interview.
Here at The Reel Scene, we are committed to giving aspiring actors not just professional training, but the support, contacts, tools and knowledge needed to really understand the industry. The Asa Butterfield Masterclass is available to actors of all levels of experience.