Asa Butterfield on Tim Burton and 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children'

LOS ANGELES- For Asa Butterfield, it's all about character.

"I choose my projects based on the people involved," Butterfield said. "The character needs to have something to at least add something to the movie and not be a filler."

Which is why Butterfield-who first made a name for himself with 2008's Holocaust story The Boy In The Striped Pajamas has chosen sci-fi and fantasy roles recently, whether it be this weekend's Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, the 2011 Martin Scorsese sci-fi pic Hugo or the 2013 film Ender's Game.

"I like films that explore new worlds and that let your imagination run wild," said Butterfield, who stars as Jacob. "You don't have to abide by the rules of planet Earth . . . It's a lot of fun and allows you some creativity."

Butterfield also said that a big draw for Miss Peregrine was to work with legendary director Tim Burton.

"Tim-I've watched all his films and I've always loved his films," he said. "What's amazing about him is that he has so much enthusiasm for his projects and he loves telling those stories."

"For an actor, he's passionate and it's really kind of rewarding," Butterfield continued. "Not only is it his feelings that he's sharing with you, but he also wants you to feel with your guts and your instincts-and as an artist, you're really receptive to that and it's exciting."

Butterfield said that passion comes through in Peregrine, which he said he has already seen multiple times.

"I feel like the story was written for Tim, honestly. It's incredibly visual and has beautiful scenes with so much color," he said. "At the same time, it's very mysterious and it's very creepy. He's really one of the only helmsmen that embraces scary elements of filmmaking.

"I would love to work with him again," he said eenthusiastically. "His experimentation is great, so I really value that-because you make mistakes and you learn a lot working with him. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat."

Of course, one possibility would be a Peregrine sequel if the film is successful.

"I would love to see sequels," Butterfield said. "Obviously, we don't know yet. I can only cross my fingers."

Like Ender's Game, MissPeregrine is based on a popular book series. Butterfield said that comes with the plus of name recognition and the minus of people having expectations.

"From an acting standpoint, it gives you a lot of information that you can draw upon," he said. "At the same time, your job is to play this character and part of that is managing people's expectations of people of people who are passionate about the story and protective of it. In the end, you can't please everybody."

Speaking of pleasing, Butterfield has nothing but positive things to say about Eva Green, who plays the titular lead and commands the screen in every scene she's in.

"She's an incredible woman," he said. "In this film, at first she plays her character as kind of motherly and loving, but sometimes she's seen as dangerous and kicks ass. She strikes that balance extremely well."

Ella Purnell, who plays Jacob's love interest, Emma, also commands attention.

"She taps into that edgy part of the story," he said. "As far as us being believable romantically, she and I met before the film started and there was chemistry there, so that was easy."

"If Tim Burton directed Harry Potter with a dash of Doctor Who, a sprinkle of X-Men with a smidge of Groundhog Day-I think it's a fair description," Buterfield concluded. "It's got a little bit of everything. There's a variety of genres in this movie."