'Spaceman' Interview: Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan

Moviefone speaks with Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan about 'Spaceman.' "They left me alone and let me be in my own little weird world," Sandler said.

Opening in theaters on February 23rd before premiering on Netflix March 1st is the new sci-fi drama ‘Spaceman,’ which was directed by Johan Renck (‘Downloading Nancy’), and stars Adam Sandler (‘Uncut Gems’) and Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan (‘Maestro’).

(L to R) Carey Mulligan and Adam Sandler Talk Netflix's 'Spaceman'.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan to talk about their work on the new Netflix movie ‘Spaceman.’ They discussed the new film, their characters and their complex relationship, working together and what it was like for Sandler to be isolated from the rest of the cast.

You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Sandler and Mulligan, and director Johan Renck.

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Moviefone: To begin with, Adam can you talk about your approach to playing this character and going to the emotional places of loneliness and regret that you had to for this role?

Adam Sandler: Well, that's good. Yes, it made sense to the character to be alone as much as possible. Johan, when we were shooting the alone stuff, kind of just put me in my own world. The cameras were far away, and he let me just feel the sadness on my own. Everybody on the set was nice to me, they kind of left me alone, let me be in my own little weird world. That's not a place that I tend to be in much. I tend to try to run away from those feelings and just be as happy as possible or try to get back to happiness. This is a place where you just say, "Let's just feel those feelings," and I'm not that great at that, but I did it.

Adam Sandler as Jakub and Carey Mulligan as Lenka in 'Spaceman.'

MF: Carey, they say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but that's not the experience your character has. Can you talk about the loneliness and fear that she's experiencing?

Carey Mulligan: I think she's feeling that. I think she's also just feeling fed up. That's what I liked about the character, and the idea was that she's really annoyed that he's decided that he needs to do this thing for himself, but to the exclusion of everything else. I think there are tons of films about brave men going off and fulfilling their dream or their huge mission in life, but you don't see the reality of how people really feel about that, which is not always like cheerleading. It's the reality, which is, this is massively inconvenient and painful for me to be left alone when I'm going through something which I think arguably is bigger, which is bringing a new life into the world. Ultimately, he figured it out, but it took a minute. But that's what I liked is that it felt kind of honest to be like, "This is grossly unfair." That was really where she was coming from.

Hanus (voice by Paul Dano) in Spaceman.'

MF: Adam, can you talk about the relationship that Jakub creates with Hanuš, and technically, what was it like shooting those scenes? Who were you acting opposite of?

Adam Sandler: Well, Paul (Dano), who plays (the voice of) Hanuš, we did a bunch of rehearsals together, so we got to kind of lock into something that we were connecting on. So, he wasn't there when I was shooting it, but I felt his warmth throughout it, and it was kind of like a subconscious, or a spirit that I was able to talk to and be truthful with or run away from the truth. It was very cathartic.

Carey Mulligan as Lenka and Adam Sandler as Jakub in 'Spaceman.'

MF: Carey, I know you did not have a lot of scenes with Adam, but what was it like working separately and together with him to create this relationship?

Carey Mulligan: Oh, it was the best. We had so much fun. We got on well, most of the time. We were filming in these beautiful places, and we both love our boss, we had a great time with Johan. We loved him. (We had a) wonderful crew, the whole thing was just such a lovely job. We were in Prague, and we were coming out of COVID, so it was still kind of empty. It felt sort of magical to be there without tons of people around. So, it was wonderful. I loved it.

MF: Finally, Adam, what was your experience like working with Carey. Did you feel like you had to bring you’re A-game while filming with her?

Adam Sandler: Yes, she is incredible. (She’s a) great human being, and great actress, and I didn't want to let anybody down. I was more excited watching her act than saying my stuff. I was like, "Let's get back to Carey quick." She's exceptional.

Spaceman

"I just want to go home."

R1 hr 48 minMar 1st, 2024

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What is the Plot of ‘Spaceman’?

As an astronaut (Adam Sandler) is sent to the edge of the solar system to collect mysterious ancient dust finds his earthly life falling to pieces, he turns to the only voice who can help him try to put it back together. It just so happens to belong to a creature (Paul Dano) from the beginning of time lurking in the shadows of his ship.