Hollywood can wait, I want to do my A-levels, says Hugo star Asa Butterfield

 
25 February 2014
The Weekender

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The star of hit film Hugo has revealed he has turned down scripts so he can return to sixth form in Hackney and do his A-levels.

Asa Butterfield, 16, says his family and friends in London help him retain a sense of normality.

Butterfield became famous after playing the title role in 2008’s The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. He has since become one of the most in-demand teenagers in Hollywood, with starring roles in sci-fi hit Ender’s Game and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.

But Butterfield, who is currently filming in New York with Ethan Hawke and Emily Mortimer for Ten Thousand Saints, has continued to attend school near his family home in Islington. He said: “London is very much my home. I can’t imagine myself leaving there any time soon. When I finish this shoot I’m coming back to do my A-levels and get back to normality. I get to see my friends, hang out with them and do all the things that teenagers do.

“Ever since I started in this business, something I agreed with my family and friends was not to be dragged into the Hollywoodesque, childhood actor vision. That never appealed to me. I would always rather have a semblance of normality.

Butterfield plans to study biology, geography, film studies and photography. He added: “Once I’m out of college I’m going to take some time off and go travelling and spend some time committed to acting without having to think about school. I had to turn down roles before because they’ve clashed with exams.”

Ender’s Games is released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 10.

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