Britt Robertson Travels The Space Between Us

By: Lynn Barker

Pretty actress Britt Robertson starred in Tomorrowland, The Longest Ride and A Dog’s Purpose and in The Space Between Us, she plays Tulsa, an unhappy foster teen who falls for Gardner (Asa Butterfield), a teen raised on Mars. Does Britt agree that guys and girls are super different even if they are raised on Earth? Do foster kids have to grow up much faster? Was it fun co-starring with Asa Butterfield as her love interest? Check out this cool interview!

Q: We are just seeing you now in A Dog’s Purpose. Then, this kind of Sci-Fi romance. You are working a lot girl! 

• Britt: Yeah, “Dog’s Purpose” and “Space Between Us” I sort of did back-to-back and “Mother’s Day”. I did all three of them in a four month’s span. “Girlboss” (a new TV series on Netflix) I just did over the summer. It’s actually a pretty luxurious schedule that I have. You try to work as much as you can but not work so much that it’s not fun anymore.

Q: This was such a fun movie. Dating anybody it’s like you are dating a Martian anyway.

• Britt: (laughs) Yes, exactly. Very good.

Q: Could you relate to this on a personal level because guys are just strange beings?

• Britt: Different beings. It’s true. I find that in my life now. 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 both give different 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. Now it make so much more sense” because you really don’t understand that perspective.
• So, with this film, there was a lot I was able to pull from that. Tulsa is constantly trying to figure this guy out. Is he lying? Is he shady? Is he weirdly innocent? She could not understand him and I think it’s a big part of the draw originally because he’s so mysterious but seems so kind and sweet-hearted but she just can’t get a grasp as to who this guy is. Then, once it’s revealed that he’s just this genuinely innocent, sweet kid who (grew up on) Mars, it’s “Oh, now I love you so much more” (she laughs).

Q: Your character Tulsa is kind of more isolated starting out than even he is. He’s been born up there and raised in that environment yet, because of the foster care system on Earth, she’s been passed around from place to place.

• Britt: He’s been nurtured. People are hyper aware of him and no one cares about her. There’s something really isolating about not having that human connection.

Q: Speaking of connection, let’s talk family. I know you are originally from South Carolina. Do you have a chance to go home much? Do you have friends and family there?

• Britt: I do. My whole family is there. My sister is pregnant so I’m going back a lot now. I’m going to be an aunt. It’s really cool. I’m the oldest so I never thought that it would be (this way). They are all waiting for me to pop out kids. I’m like “Nope, the 22-year-old is gonna do it”.

Q: You started out in South Carolina so what got you to Hollywood to just go for it?

• Britt: I was going to these conventions twice a year where we’d do monologues and commercials and there were agents from New York and L.A. and one of them was like “You should move to L.A. We’ll represent you and you can audition”. And again, we were all stupid enough to think it could work out and hello, stupidity worked out for all of us. I was twelve When you’re that young you don’t care. You don’t think about being defeated or anything. You just feel fearless.

Q: You are a thorough actress with your research. Did you look into foster care kids? They have to grow up faster and be more responsible.

• Britt: Exactly. You’re taking care of yourself. I’ve done a lot of research on foster kids because I’ve played a foster kid before. I did a series called “Life Unexpected” where I played a foster child so I worked with different organizations and different kids. I’ve been around people who have experienced what it’s like to not have a real home or family or being tossed around from home to home.
• I think a lot of similarities that they all carry is this hardened edge, this real, desperate need to protect themselves as best they can whatever that means to them, whether it’s 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 and the person who she is brightens. There’s something kind of great about that.

Q: You have to give him a direction, get him out to the West Coast to hopefully find his dad.  

• Britt: It is a kind of maternal relationship that they have early on just because of the way she’s always been with everyone. I’m sure every foster home she has been in she’s had six little ones younger than her and she’s instructing them to do whatever. That’s how a lot of these young girls are when they get to this age, they’ve parented many, many kids. You just learn that that’s your role.

Q: Do you have an interest in space exploration just in general?

• Britt: I've been at NASA for a launch before (while making Tomorrowland). I've seen a real life launch. I've read a few books about it, I learned about it in school, but it's never been a specific interest of mine. But I do find it cool.

Q:  Gardner is experiencing almost everything for the first time. What would you like to experience for the first time.

• Britt: Skydiving's cool. I'd love to go on a safari. I love animals. I want to go cage diving with great whites off of Seal Island. Lots of cool things.

Q: These days, what keeps you grounded?

• Britt: I live in the (San Fernando) valley. I have lots of really great friends and two amazing dogs. I go (to my agent’s house) every Sunday and they cook for me and clean up after me. It’s a really nice life. They keep me grounded also, my lifestyle is very relaxed. I get stressed out when I can’t plan to do nothing. There’s something peaceful about just having your own time.

Q: What do you do in your downtime, go fly airplanes maybe? Did doing that in the movie make you want to go fly?

• Britt: No. It made me want to get off a plane. I read. I watch a lot of movies and T.V. I cook a lot, clean a lot.

Q: Are you a southern cook, like chicken and biscuits and gravy?

• Britt: No. I wish. My mom doesn’t really cook. My dad owns a restaurant but he doesn’t do the cooking. I’ve gotten recipes online. Also my boyfriend’s (Maze Runner star Dylan O’Brien) mom gave me like ten recipes that I have mastered. Not as good as her but still decent so I have a few things that I rotate out and switch it up every now and then.

Q: Tell us a little about your new Netflix series “Girlboss”. It’s based on Sophia Amoruso and her Nasty Gal clothing website. Was that exciting to headline a series?

• Britt: It will be fun. I’m excited. It was fun to shoot. I’ve seen four episodes now. I’m excited to see the rest of them and see how people respond to it but it’s a really cool show. I’m proud of it. We’re only in the first season now and it takes it up to her launching Nasty Gal so yeah hopefully there’s more seasons and we could do the uprise and the downfall and the Phoenix from the ashes.

Q: So did you actually meet Sophia? What did you make of her? She seems like an interesting woman.

• Britt: She’s a riot. She is a good time, man. The first time that I met her was at a dinner and she came dressed to the nines, looked amazing and the second time I met her she took me out for brunch and took me on a Nasty Gal shopping spree and bought me so many clothes which was really sweet. She’s been really involved and great throughout the process. She’s a funny weirdo in the best way.

The Space Between Us is in theaters Friday, February 3^rd!

 

Have Your Say

Are you or do you know a foster kid? Do you sometimes think the opposite sex is from another planet? Start commenting below!

 

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