Interview With Asa Butterfield, Star Of THE HOUSE OF TOMORROW

The House of Tomorrow, based on the novel of the same name by Peter Bognanni, is a coming of age story that manages to be retro, futuristic, and relatable all at the same time.

Sixteen-year-old Sebastian (Asa Butterfield) has had a rather odd upbringing, his life has been confined to the inside of a geodesic dome with his grandmother, Josephine (Ellen Burstyn). As a sheltered youth, he’s brought up on the teachings of R. Buckminster Fuller, the futurist, architect and inventor. He was also Josephine’s mentor. The house they reside in is also a tourist attraction, a sort of museum to his work.

As Sebastian’s doing a presentation on the house one day his grandmother has a stroke. Through this twist of events he spends time with Jared (Alex Wolff) his sister Meredith (Maude Apatow) and his father (Nick Offerman). The two boys share a unique, and often hilarious friendship. The snarky Jared is blunt and somewhat crude, but therein lies his charm. He’s recuperating from a heart transplant, and he feels his cynicism is warranted. Since Sebastian doesn’t seem to have any friends, or any real idea of how other kids his age act, he’s a moth to Jared’s flame. These two outsiders also bond over another new discovery for Sebastian: punk music, eventually even forming a band.

The cast is wonderfully chosen, and the director Peter Livolsi, making his feature film debut, generously leads the viewer through the events as Sebastian experiences them, making it a thoughtful and heartfelt story, even when you’re laughing out loud. Which- you will do. The awkwardness of Butterfield’s character paired with the audacity of Wolff’s makes them a winning duo. As a fan of music, watching Sebastian form his identity through the aid of punk music makes the movie that much more captivating to me.

I was able to sit down and speak with the star, Asa Butterfield, about his experience in the business, his favorite films, goals, and how he prepared for the role!

Kristy Strouse for Film Inquiry: Congratulations on the film! I really enjoyed it!

Asa Butterfield: Thank you.

How did you prepare for the role? Did you do any research on Buckminster Fuller?

Asa Butterfield: When I got the script I didn’t know that much about Bucky. I didn’t know much about punk either. Jared (Alex Wolff) really taught me everything I needed to know about punk, and what it really sort of stood for, what these musicians were feeling. And Bucky’s whole ideology was really fascinating. It was really cool to find out about that and have that be at the heart of the movie. It was really original I think.

It is definitely an original idea. So, you mentioned Alex teaching you about punk, so you mean off-set in preparation?

Asa Butterfield: Yeah leading up to it, whenever we weren’t working we were just playing music. He taught me to play guitar. We were listening to punk music all the time. It was great, we would just rock out.

Well that sounds like fun preparation! Did you have any musical experience prior? Some of your other roles had connections with music too.

Asa Butterfield: I play piano, and I play a bit of drums, but I had never really picked up guitars. I love bass, I have always loved bass players. They’re like the coolest people in bands. So, it was great to get to inhabit that role.

Was there something in particular about the character or the story that appealed to you?

Asa Butterfield: I think it was about his discovery. About the rebellion and his life through punk music, and through his friend. I thought that friendship and that journey was just so honest and real. It was sweet, and kind of relatable. It’s like anyone going through that stage in their life, trying to figure out where they are and what they’re missing out on. I thought that was a really nice story and it was such a treat working with Alex on that. He’s so good, and we sort of just bounced off each other. It was an important relationship, and it made it easy to be honest.

And that comes through in the movie, you have great chemistry, and it makes it feel really organic.

Asa Butterfield: I think it was really important that we had that, that relationship and that ease.

The character of Sebastian is raised without a lot of social interaction, sort of sheltered. Was it difficult to get into the mindset of that character at all?

Asa Butterfield: Yes and no. I sort of just tried to figure out what it would have been like. You know, you sort of guess, and then take your own approach on the character. Figure out how he is physically, how he moves. I wouldn’t say it was difficult, but I think once you find the character and the space that he’s in and how that changes throughout the film, it is easier. In the end he’s very different from how he is in the beginning. Tracking that, I think, is important, and it makes the whole thing a bit easier.

I know we talked about the music earlier, but something just popped into my head. When you perform at the end of the film, are the two of you really performing?

Asa Butterfield: Yeah, absolutely it is. We recorded it live, and there’s no overdub or studio copy of us playing. The mistakes we make are real, and that’s what punk music is. It’s not supposed to be perfect, it’s supposed to be this explosion of sound. It’s messy and angry, and we really wanted to capture that as much and as real as possible.

That’s terrific! I loved that final performance. We talked about Alex, but there’s a really great cast involved, with talent on both sides of the camera. Can you talk about what it was like working with the others? Sort of touch on the experience of making it?

Asa Butterfield: We were so lucky to have such a great group of people. Everyone’s character had a great space with time to develop, and live. It’s interesting because they all had their own thing going on, and each character had a lot to them. We had such an ensemble, and we got to work together, but everyone had their say, and it was really special. We had great actors to pull it off.

That’s great. I remember first seeing you in the heartbreaking film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and you’ve been acting for a long time. What’s it been like to sort of grow up in this industry… doing films from such a young age?

Asa Butterfield: I don’t know, you mean personally growing up? Well – I enjoyed it. It’s the only experience I’ve really had. I love what I do. I love that you get to travel, and I love the people that you get to work with. I love that when you are an actor you have a lot of time to do other things, see your family, do other interests – hobbies. I’m grateful to be in this position, absolutely.

And you’ve done a lot of different genres of films, is there anything you’d like to do that you haven’t? Or any aspirations other than acting?

Asa Butterfield: Yeah, genre-wise I’d like to do a Western. I think that would be a lot of fun. I do want to do other things other than acting. I’d love to make wildlife documentaries. I love the natural world and photography. I’ve watched wildlife documentaries since I was a little kid and I think going out and filming those would be a lot of fun. A different sort of challenge.

Definitely, and that’s really cool. I’m sure that would be a lot of fun. Are there any projects coming up that you can tell us about?

Asa Butterfield: I have a movie coming out at the end of this year, a sort of comedy/horror. I worked with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, and it’s called Slaughterhouse Rulez.

We look forward to seeing that! Do you have any inspirations? Anyone you look up to?

Asa Butterfield: I’ve worked with so many of them. Most recently about a year and a half ago I was in a film called Journey’s End, and it’s a WWI film that I got to work on with a bunch of British actors. It’s based on a play, and it’s often just long dialogue scenes, not really much else going on, and working very closely with all of those actors was very moving for me and I learned a lot. I really appreciate that part in my life.

I can imagine. Do you have a favorite film?

Asa Butterfield: My favorite film, and it’s tough, is between The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Matrix.

Well they are great choices! And both are some of my favorites too. A lot of our readers online are interested in getting into film. Do you have any advice you could impart, since you’ve been in the business for a while?

Asa Butterfield: Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. I think, the most important thing, is that you enjoy it. Don’t do it if your hearts not totally in it. One thing I’ve learned, definitely, is to enjoy every moment of it. If you need a break, then do that. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed.

Film Inquiry thanks Asa Butterfield for speaking with us!

The House of Tomorrow will have a limited release in the US on April 27^th. For more information on the film click here.