Adam Sandler On His Desire To Star In More Dramatic Films & The Pain Of Shooting ‘Spaceman’ Stunts: “My Body’s Not The Most Flexible”

Zac Ntim
·3 min read
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The Berlin Film Festival was rocking Wednesday afternoon as Adam Sandler rolled into town with Spaceman, his latest feature for Netflix.

The Uncut Gems actor and his co-stars, including Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano, received buoyant rounds of applause as they entered the press conference for the film this afternoon in Berlin.

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Adapted for the screen by Colby Day, the film is based on the novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař, which was released in 2017. It picks up with Sandler’s astronaut Jakub six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, as he realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time, which he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Voiced by Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Dano, Hanuš works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late.

Spaceman is one of Sandler’s weightier performances, falling squarely into the drama genre. Speaking with the audience today in Berlin, Sandler said he would like to clock more performances in the genre.

“Yes. I loved doing the Spaceman. It was an amazing process,” Sandler said when asked if he’d do more dramatic roles.

“I just love the movie. I love watching it. It’s beautiful. It sounds amazing. So if another great movie comes around… maybe Johan [Renck, the film’s director] will invite us all to do another good one.”

The sci-fi pic also requires some of Sandler’s most physical work, with elaborate stunts that were shot on a studio lot in Prague. Sandler described his work with stunt wires on the pic as “tough.”

“My body’s not the most flexible. The wires hurt me and dug into me,” he said. “The stuntmen who would wire me up every day, I would tell them it hurts but they didn’t believe me. But we did it. We did it as a team.”

The Berlin rollout for Spaceman comes in the middle of awards season, of which Mulligan has been a central figure for her role in Bradley Cooper’s Maestro. When asked whether awards occupied a lot of space in her mind during this time, she said: “Yeah, I think about it.”

“For a period of time, if you’re lucky enough to be in a film that receives recognition, it’s called awards season for a reason,” Mulligan said. “You do spend a lot of time traveling and going to things and meeting people. The best part of it, particularly this year, has been getting to be in the room with incredible writers, directors, and actors. It’s kind of a full-time job.”

Spaceman also stars Kunal Nayyar (The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry), Lena Olin (Hunters), and Isabella Rossellini (Julia). Producers on the project included Channing Tatum, Reid Carolin, Peter Kiernan, Michael Parets, Tim Headington, Lia Buman, and Max Silva. The exec producers are Ben Ormand, Renck, and Barry Bernardi.

Directed by Chernobyl Emmy winner Johan Renck, the pic set for a global release on Netflix on March 1.

Berlinale ends Feburary 25.

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