Young stars Asa Butterfield (Hugo) and Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland) team up in the new teen romance The Space Between Us
Their new movie hinges on the fact that Butterfield's character Gardner was born on Mars during a Nasa mission and is struggling to adapt to life on Earth. "I'm a big science-fiction fan," says Butterfield, who previously worked in the genre on Ender's Game. "I think what's great about sci-fi is that everything that you see comes from technology that we already have, but just it's far more advanced. So they are almost giving glimpses into our future, whereas fantasy is totally, totally made up. This movie has a science-fiction backdrop, yet it deals with very small and natural feelings and emotions, which I think is pretty cool."
Britt and Asa in The Space Between Us
Robertson liked that the film is about the distinctions between men and women (men are from Mars, indeed!), rather than the sci-fi angle. "Yes, it's about different beings," she says. "But it's like I'm sitting in therapy saying, 'He thinks this way and I just don't get it.' I've had a male therapist and a female therapist, and they give advice from two different perspectives. And it helps me! When speaking to a male about males you are like, 'Oh, that's how they think,' because you really don't understand that perspective."
For Butterfield, finding Gardner's physicality was key to bringing him to life in a way that was interesting and original. "There was the walk, the gravity," he says, "So I had to practice with weights around my ankle. I realised how difficult it was and would try to recreate that."
Meanwhile, Robertson's character Tulsa needed a steely edge. "I've been around people who have experienced what it's like to not have a real home or family," she says. "I think they carry this need to protect themselves emotionally, physically, whatever. That's what I tried to bring to Tulsa, this guarded chick who has had to provide for herself basically. But as you see her connection with Gardner grow, you see the layers unfold."
To get into the head of the characters she plays, Robertson finds inspiration in unexpected places. "I watched a really crazy episode of Dr. Phil today," she laughs. "It's always really fascinating stories. I think as an actor you're constantly observing human behaviour, and that show is just so good for the actor's mind, I guess. You wouldn't meet these people otherwise that are going through these crazy circumstances. So it's like news, but better!"
While the premise of this movie makes it look like a sci-fi adventure, the truth...
Set in the near future, 'The Space Between Us' is an exploration of the very...
Ransom Riggs' bestselling novel is appropriately adapted into a movie by Tim Burton, the gothic...
Gardner Elliot isn't like average 16 year old boys, he's lived on a small colony...
Jake has always been an ordinary boy but when he finds himself on a small...
Jude gets the surprise of his life when his biological father Les shows up at...
With a gentle current of comedy, this relaxed British drama finds some cleverly involving ways...
Nathan (Asa Butterfield) is different. He has an amazing way with numbers - something which...
Since this entire story centres on virtual-reality gaming, it's tricky to feel any sense of...
Ender Wiggin is the youngest in his family albeit with an astute mind and a...
Based on the Brian Selznick novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Scorsese's first family movie...
Hugo is a twelve year old boy who lives in Paris and loves mysteries. One...
Emma Thompson is back with a second encounter between her somewhat scary nanny and another...
Watch the trailer for Nanny Mcphee and The Big BangNanny Mcphee and The Big Bang...