Asa Butterfield is far from ‘Second Best’ at Riverside Studios

The production opens later this week…

Opening at the Riverside Studios this Friday, January 24th Asa Butterfield will swap the small and silver screens for the stage, as he makes his theatrical debut in the comedy-drama Second Best, directed by Michael Longhurst and written by Barney Norris. His engagement plays a strictly limited run until Saturday, 22nd February.

Producer, Simon Friend:

“I read David Foenkinos’ wonderful novel when it was published last year, and it immediately cried out to be told on stage. It’s a coming-of-age story of success and failure, love and loss, and fathers and sons – as well as the universal experience of plans going awry. We’re incredibly excited about the incomparable Asa Butterfield making his stage debut in Barney Norris’ wonderfully funny and moving adaptation of the novel, with Michael Longhurst directing. A team of artists who are most definitely not second best.”

At ten years old, Martin Hill was on the brink of stardom, down to the final two contenders for the role of Harry Potter but narrowly missing out. Now an adult, Martin is about to embark on the ultimate adventure – fatherhood. As he navigates this whirlwind of emotions, he is pulled back to that pivotal moment in his past as he struggles to move beyond imagining what his life might have been.

Second Best, rehearsal images by Hugo Glendinning via Story House PR

Second Best is a playful yet poignant new comedy about fate, near misses and the winding paths life takes. It explores the ache of almost touching greatness and the humour and hope that come when dreams remain just out of reach. A story about the tender moments that shape us, Second Best is for anyone who has ever wondered about the road not taken, and whether the other life would have been as glittering as it looks.

British actor, Asa Butterfield, is arguably best known for his role as Otis Milburn, in the Netflix worldwide phenomenon Sex Education. The series returned for a fourth and final series last September. He will next star in Out Of The Dust for Netflix, a six-part psychological thriller, opposite Molly Windsor, and Christopher Eccleston.

Asa made his on-screen debut at the age of eight in After Thomas (2006). In 2007, he featured in Son of Rambow alongside Will Poulter. The following year Asa starred in the film adaptation of John Bayne’s novel by the same name, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. A leading role that earned him critical acclaim and a nomination for a British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer.

In 2011, he starred in Martin Scorsese’s adventure film Hugo and in 2015 in James Graham’s, A Brilliant Young Mind. More recently he’s starred in a global advert for Uber, with Robert De Niro.

Second Best

Starring Asa Butterfield

Riverside Studios, 24 January – 22 February 2025, riversidestudios.co.uk