The cast of characters featured in Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is expansive, and it lends to the film's entertainment value in a big way -- the ensemble showcasing a whole bunch of fantastic special abilities. Some are a bit less desirable, like having a monster mouth on the back of your head -- but other amazing gifts include controlling dead things, premonition dreams, and rapidly growing plants. Because of the wealth of options, choosing which amazing power you would want for yourself is an interesting challenge -- but that's why I put the question to the stars of the movie during a recent string of interviews.
I recently had the chance to sit down with the stars of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children during the film's press day, and at the end of each interview I asked the stars which peculiarity they would want for themselves. Making the whole bit more fun, they all chose different abilities -- and you can find their answers below and on the next couple of pages...
Ella Purnell and Asa Butterfield
First up we have Ella Purnell and Asa Butterfield, who play Emma and Jake, respectively, in Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. In the movie, their characters can control air and see invisible monsters, but they would individually choose very different abilities. Butterfield apparently would take no issue with having a hive of bees living inside him, feeling that it would appropriately intimidate anyone who comes at him wrong; while Purnell wishes she could have the abilities of the film's shapeshifting villain (a gift, I point out, would be very helpful in her professional acting career).
Eva Green
Unlike her Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children co-stars, Eva Green actually did choose an ability from her own character's power-set... though she only chose part of it. In her response to the question, the actress remarks that she would love the ability to fly, referencing Miss Peregrine's ability to turn into a Peregrine falcon in Tim Burton's movie. What she's leaving on the table, however, is her amazing power to create time loops -- which is what keeps the children in her school all-but-permanently trapped in the year 1943. Did Green choose the right half of her character's skills? I'll leave that for you to discuss in the comments.
Samuel L. Jackson
Finally we have Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the big, bad, eyeball-eating villain in Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. As mentioned earlier, his character has the peculiar ability to shapeshift, which winds up being pretty damn scary in the movie. Unlike Ella Purnell, however, Jackson decided to go with the power possessed by the student Milton in the movie: invisibility. While you might think that's strange (like I did), as he professionally puts himself in front of a camera, it seems that the Oscar nominated actor just has certain moments in his life when he wishes that he could just disappear.
Which peculiarities from Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children would you personally like to have? Hit the comments section below with your thoughts, and see the film in theaters everywhere now.
