Commenting on the complexities of his latest character, Asa Butterfield said, "Gardener lives his whole life on a space station in Mars. So, he has limited experience of the outside world. Everything he knows happens on Mars and the few pieces of information he gathers through different things and finding out about earth is something he loves, he craves. His whole world revolves around this idea of knowing about The earth. I guess the sense of belonging which is something we all can connect to in the movie. Belonging somewhere and feeling that you are worthy is something which Gardener really doesn’t feel at the start of the film because no one knows he exists. In his words, how can he be dispensable if no one knows he exists, he is alive. So, his whole motive is to find a place he belongs to or he feels safe at. I think this is something everyone needs and everyone strives for."
Butterfield grabbed eyeballs internationally for playing the central character Bruno in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), for which he received nominations for the British Independent Film Award and the London Film Critics Circle Award for Young British Performer of the Year, at the tender age of 11. He was also a part of the hit BBC TV Series Merlin (2008-2009) and Norman in the fantasy film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010). Asa's career took a dramatic turn when he played Hugo Cabret in Martin Scorsese's fantasy Hugo (2011). He received innumerable accolades and praises and was awarded the Young Hollywood Award for Breakthrough Performance - Male. He was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer amongst other acknowledgments. He gave an equally bang on performance as Ender Wiggin in the 2013 film adaptation of the science fiction novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and fortified his image as a consistent performer.
His performance in Hugo did wonders as he effortlessly turned into a 12-year-old orphan who lived in the walls of a train station, covered in the mystery of his late father and an automation. In The Space Between Us, Butterfield is all set to portray yet another challenging role as an outsider on earth. Asa Butterflied portrays the role of Gardener, a 16-year-old Martian whose sole objective is to make it to Earth and witness the miracles he believes exist due to his love for Tulsa, a girl he met online. The character is very calm and complacent in nature and hasn't been exposed to more than 15 people in his entire life. Gardener, unlike his love interest in the movie, is warped in a sheltered world which isolates him from the rest. From garnering enough courage to fight all odds to visit earth to seeking solace and companionship in a robot called Centaur, Gardener is a well-sketched character with several layers. An 18 year Old Asa Butterfield has spilled his magic all over Gardener while adding his own touch of originality. The Space Between Us is all set to release on 10th of February and with Valentines Day just around the corner, this intriguing Sci-Fi romance will win hearts with its exemplary story and stellar star-cast.