After starring in four seasons of the worldwide sensation "Sex Education", Ace Butterfield has done more in front of the camera than most 26-year-olds. He lost his fictional virginity, starred in his own masturbation montage, and faked an orgasm in front of real and television mothers. But until the Christmas comedy "Your Christmas Or Mine 2", he never did anything risky with a goat, reports "NME Magazine".
That's where everything changed with Klaus. Klaus is a black mountain goat that Ace Butterfield's character James has to carry through an unlocked gate after his phone falls into the toilet bowl. Although the animal was sometimes clearly a toy in the hands of the crew behind the cameras, the moments when the actor grabbed the goat by the horns were very real. "Klaus was funny," says Butterfield, sitting in a cafe in Hackney. "Was he a little spoiled? He had his moments and when he didn't want to work, he let it be known."
The cast and crew worked on the side of a snowy mountain in Innsbruck, Austria. They'd rather have three identical goats so the Klauses could be interchangeable in case of any skin tantrums. "We were a bit limited with the choice of goats in Austria," says Butterfield. One Klaus had to work, and he had no experience in cinematography. "He's not a stage actor. He's not trained. He didn't go to acting school."
On the other hand, neither did Butterfield. This afternoon, a blue-eyed young man in sweatpants and a silver earring, unshaven. He gained fame as a child, playing one of the main characters in the movie "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" when he was only 11 years old. Although he was a member of a drama club in London, the city where he was born and still lives, he avoided acting school by continuing to act in major films while his friends were still learning how to build their careers. "Nanny Makfi and the Big Bang" at the age of 12. "Hugo" by Martin Scorsese at the age of 14.
"My life became much more intense after the series 'Sex Education'"
"The first year of acting, I didn't think I'd continue doing it," says Butterfield. "I didn't even know what acting was." He loved being in front of the camera and managed to balance it with his schoolwork, always getting good grades thanks to the teachers on set. But he didn't want that to become his life. Even after the success of "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," he told his mom that he wasn't going to continue doing it. He wanted to dig up dinosaurs.
It wasn't until 2011, in the movie "Hugo", that Butterfield fell in love with acting and film production. He continued to receive offers for roles in major films: "Ender's Game", "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children", "Journey's End". However, nothing could compare to the monster "Sex Education" that came out on Netflix in 2019. As Otis Milburn, he helped the series about a college student and his sex therapist mother become a global phenomenon.
"It really made my life a lot more intense," says Butterfield. He still rides on the bus and train, however, it is already becoming impossible to walk alone on the street. The fourth season of the series "Sex Education" was, as you know, promoted using huge posters with the faces of the main characters during their orgasm. This lack of privacy is uncomfortable for the actors and can sometimes dampen Butterfield's mood.
Certainly, Butterfield claims to be aware of his good fortune. "'Ordinary' is not the right word for him because there is nothing ordinary about his talent when you see him on screen," says Tom Perry, who wrote both parts of "Your Christmas Or Mine." "He's the most relaxed and ripped star you'll ever meet."
What does Butterfield think makes him a good movie actor?
"I think it's confidence," not modest enough to dismiss the question. "I feel very confident on set and I think I have a good instinct for what works and what doesn't, and I listen to my instincts. I think I have a good sense of humor." Peri agrees. "During rehearsals and on set, Ace is very good at spotting anything that doesn't sound real or a little uncomfortable."
In the first part of "Your Christmas Or Mine", the pleasant idea was that boyfriend and girlfriend James and Hayley (Kora Kirk) both decide to surprise each other by showing up at the family's house for Christmas. In the second part of "Your Christmas or Mine 2", both families, James' upper-class father and his new American girlfriend with Cora's relatives from Macclesfield, this time spend the whole Christmas together, now in the neutral territory of an Austrian ski resort. James has a misunderstanding about the accommodation, and then a series of comical misunderstandings and intertwining stories ensue. Perry and Butterfield had a sickly good time staying at a luxury ski resort for three weeks.
"We'd spend our days off in the sauna," says Butterfield, "and it would be a sauna with a view across the valley to the mountains." When we got there, the hotel we were staying in became a spa without nudity. It's probably a question of humanity. But when you go to any Austrian spa in the village, oh yeah, feel free, there's a lot of nudity." Am I less ashamed thanks to "Sex Education"? "No, I'm still uncomfortable, believe it or not."
As for his private Christmases, they tend to be big, noisy, family gatherings, similar to these movies. You can also imagine Butterfield playing a similar role: both on and off screen, he takes the holiday quite seriously, not wanting to put on a show. He has brothers and half-brothers and spent this Christmas in Yorkshire, where his mother's family is from (his parents divorced when he was young). "We don't see each other too much, so it's really nice to have a few days of total enjoyment together."
Butterfield is currently in an interesting period of his career. He feels like he is at the beginning of a new chapter.
"I don't know where the next few years will take me now that 'Sex Education' is over," the actor claims, adding: "I've done a lot of comedies in recent years and I want to do something more dramatic again. It would be good to get out of my comfort zone." ."
One of the things he is considering is a return to the stage. For a long time it was not attractive to him because he was afraid. After so much time in front of the camera in "Sex Education," you might think Butterfield wants to disappear from the screen, but he's ready for a new challenge, in any form.
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