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Asa Butterfield

Asa Butterfield

Actor · Born April 1, 1997 (29) · Islington, London, England, UK

Critics Choice Award nominee

Asa Bopp Farr Butterfield (born Asa Maxwell Thornton Farr Butterfield; 1 April 1997) is an English actor. Beginning his career as a child actor, Butterfield 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), and the fantasy Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016). From 2019 to 2023, Butterfield portrayed the lead of the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education. Description above from the Wikipedia article Asa Butterfield, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 1, 1997 (29)
From
Islington, London, England, UK
Works as
Actor
Titles
31 on MovieCove · 37 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Up 5% in 30 days

What are Asa Butterfield's films like?

Across their 27 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Genres

Comedy10 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 48th percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 72nd percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Animation3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 40th percentile
: browse their Animation movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 41st percentile
: browse their Action movies
Adventure2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Adventure movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
35%
Self
29%
Survival
12%
Society
9%
Morality
6%
Power
5%
Ideas
5%
Family bonds12 titles, browse their movies with this themeComing of age6 titles, browse their movies with this themeSurvival4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship5 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity5 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose5 titles, browse their movies with this themeRomantic love3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 25 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 13 · Serious 6 · Dark 6

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 11 · Stylized 8 · Heightened 6

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 8 · Charged 11 · Intense 6

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 12 · Shifting 10 · Whiplash 3

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 10 · Funny 5

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 11 · Even-paced 13 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 10 · Engaged 13 · Full focus 2

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 13 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 6

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 18 · Open-ended 6 · Ambiguous 1

Roles they play

20 analyzed roles

Usually the Hero: 15 of 20 analyzed roles.

Hero
15 of 20
Ally
5 of 20
Show the 20 roles

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
10
Warm
13
Hopeful
12
Dread
5
Joyful
7
Other
28

How their films linger

Hopeful14 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good9 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 4 with a twist

  • Happy9
  • Bittersweet10
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous6

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Asa Butterfield's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 24 of their 31 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (12).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Asa Butterfield's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

37 credits, 31 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Rogue Trooper(2026)

    as (voice)

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Unchosen(2026)

    Show 6 episodes · as Adam

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all shows

  • Our Hero, Balthazar(2025)

    as Solomon

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • The Land of Sometimes(2026)

    as The Lad With The Flying Feet (voice)

    Midcredits score: 16th percentile of all films

  • Watch the Skies(2025)

    as (voice)

  • Stitch Head(2025)

    as Stitch Head (voice)

    Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films

  • Your Christmas or Mine 2(2023)

    as James

    Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all films

  • All Fun and Games(2023)

    as Marcus

    Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films

  • Your Christmas or Mine?(2022)

    as James

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Flux Gourmet(2022)

    as Billy Rubin

    Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films

  • Choose or Die(2022)

    as Isaac

    Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films

  • 50 States of Fright (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)

    Show 3 episodes · as Brandon

  • Greed(2019)

    as Finn McCreadie

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • The House of Tomorrow(2017)

    as Sebastian Prendergast

    Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films

  • Sex Education(2019)

    Show 32 episodes · as Otis Milburn

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all shows

  • Then Came You(2018)

    as Calvin

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Time Freak(2018)

    as Stillman

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Slaughterhouse Rulez(2018)

    as Willoughby Blake

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • Right Place, Wrong Tim (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Tim Bell / Andrew

  • Journey's End(2017)

    as Raleigh

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • The Space Between Us(2017)

    as Gardner Elliot

    Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films

  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children(2016)

    as Jacob

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Ten Thousand Saints(2015)

    as Jude Keffy-Horn

    Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all films

  • Thunderbirds Are Go(2015)

    Show 1 episode · as Space Controller Conrad (Voice)

    Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all shows

  • A Brilliant Young Mind(2014)

    as Nathan Ellis

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Ender's Game(2013)

    as Ender Wiggin

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Hugo(2011)

    as Hugo Cabret

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang(2010)

    as Norman Green

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • The Wolfman(2010)

    as Young Ben

    Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films

  • Merlin(2008)

    Show 1 episode · as Mordred

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • The Boy in the Striped Pajamas(2008)

    as Bruno

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Ashes to Ashes(2008)

    Show 1 episode · as Donny

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • Son of Rambow(2007)

    as Brethren Boy

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • After Thomas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    as Andrew

  • Happy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Myles

  • If She Burns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Actor

  • The Liar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    as Adrian Healey

Career shape

Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 37 titles, 34 of them dated from 2006 to 2026; peak year 2018.

Biggest box office

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016)

$296M worldwide

Highest rated

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Sex Education (2019)

Film career

MilestoneBreakout
20062026

Peak 2018 · back in prominent film roles after a quiet stretch. Top draw in 23 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting37 of 37: 37 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score54th

By decade

2000s5 · acting2010s17 · acting2020s12 · acting

Billing

usually 1st · top billed in 59% of 22 roles
071222

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.

Awards

2 major nominations and no wins, 2012–2014.

  1. 2014
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Young Actor/Actress
  2. 2012
    • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Young Actor/Actress

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Asa Butterfield's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 53rd percentile, the median of the 25 of 26 with a score; across their 25 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 25

Approval · how many liked their films

52ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 25

Reach · how many have seen their films

91stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 25

Midcredits score across 30 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th7
  • 25th to 49th9
  • Below 25th5

Shape of the crowd

10 of their 30 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Universally Panned1
  • Crowd Pleaser10
  • Broadly Agreed9
  • Mixed6

Most divisive · actor

The Land of Sometimes (2026)

86th percentile spread · 41% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Midcredits 95th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the acting 71/100 in their films, across 22 reviewed titles; fans 78, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Asa Butterfield's work okay for kids?

Across up to 20 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs lighter than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore17 titles10–67 · median 40 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity20 titles8–67 · median 18 · mildlighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity16 titles11–80 · median 43 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs16 titles8–56 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense15 titles27–73 · median 38 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Asa Butterfield work with?

People who share at least 2 of Asa Butterfield's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Angela Griffin shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and cinematographers

Producers