Adam Sandler suffered ‘significant pain’ on ‘Spaceman’ set: director

'Spaceman' director says Adam Sandler suffered ‘significant pain’ playing astronaut
'Spaceman' director says Adam Sandler suffered 'significant pain' playing astronaut
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This is no laughing matter.

Adam Sandler reportedly suffered for his art while filming Netflix’s “Spaceman.”

Director Johan Renck, 57, claimed Sandler, also 57, was in “significant pain” while shooting scenes in zero gravity for the sci-fi movie, which is now available on the streamer.

Sandler “was on wires, which means that he’s kind of fixed to the set, he can’t piss off when he wants to at all,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “He can’t move, he can’t do anything, and also under significant pain, because that’s what happens with this harness and these rigs — they start digging into your flesh, and after 24 days of shooting, that pain is real, I will tell you.”

The Post has contacted reps for Sandler for comment.

Adam Sandler as Jakub on the set of “Spaceman.” Jon Pack/Netflix
Adam Sandler as Jakub on the set of “Spaceman.” Jon Pack/Netflix
(Left to right) Johan Renck helps Sandler out on the set of the film. Jon Pack/Netflix
(Left to right) Johan Renck helps Sandler out on the set of the film. Jon Pack/Netflix
Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan attend the premiere of “Spaceman” on Feb. 26 in LA. Getty Images for Netflix
Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan attend the premiere of “Spaceman” on Feb. 26 in LA. Getty Images for Netflix

Based on the 2017 novel “Spaceman of Bohemia” by Jaroslav Kalfař, Sandler plays Jakub Procházka, a former orphan who tries to become the Czech Republic’s first astronaut. The drama features a giant spider-like alien voiced by Paul Dano.

Since the alien was made using CGI, Renck revealed that Sandler “was acting against a tennis ball with me or somebody else reading the lines to him.”

“Also, for me, it was really important to subject the cameras to the same physicality as our actor, namely zero gravity,” Renck continued. “We put the cameras on cranes with 360 heads so the cameras could rotate and go up and down. That [meant] that Adam was very much alone, all deep into our spaceship set, with these 60-foot cranes coming in from various directions. It was weirdly a meta experience in terms of isolation and loneliness for him, I think.”

Sandler in a scene from “Spaceman.” AP
Sandler in a scene from “Spaceman.” AP

The new film is likely the most serious role the “Uncut Gems” star has taken on in his decades-spanning career, but Renck is OK with the possibility of fans being surprised with the story.

“I never think about how things are going to be received,” he stated. “How the f–k would I ever know, to be honest? I think that people who expect things to be following a certain vernacular in any shape or form are going to [find] it problematic.”

Renck concluded, “If you just let yourself float away in the film it’s going to be much easier to deal with than if you’re sitting questioning stuff throughout like, ‘Why is Adam Sandler in space?'”

Director Johan Renck said Sandler experienced “significant pain” while shooting the movie. REUTERS
Director Johan Renck said Sandler experienced “significant pain” while shooting the movie. REUTERS

For his part, Sandler told the Hollywood Reporter that Renck kept saying, “I want to see none of Adam Sandler in there,” as the star joked, “I understood, I hear that in my house too: ‘I want to see none of Adam Sandler.’”

“I did my best,” Sandler said of trying to set aside his iconic comedic stylings. “He didn’t want me sounding like me, he didn’t want me making faces. It was a difficult process.”

“Spaceman” also stars Carey Mulligan, Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin and Isabella Rossellini.