Adam Sandler found it hard to remove his comedic side in 'Spaceman'.
Adam Sandler couldn't rely on comedy in Spaceman
The 57-year-old actor stars in the new Netflix film as an astronaut who finds friendship with a giant extraterrestrial spider as his marriage falls apart on Earth and explained how it was challenging to go against his usual approach to satisfy director Johan Renck.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the movie's Los Angeles premiere on Monday (26.02.24), Adam said: "I did my best. He didn't want me sounding like me, he didn't want me making faces. It was a difficult process."
Johan decided to cast the 'Happy Gilmore' actor after a meeting and thinks that Adam's fearlessness made him more suited to the part in the picture – which also features Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano - than a regular actor.
The Swedish filmmaker explained: "I really like comedians in serious roles because I do think there's something about the fearless aspect to be a comedian that I can capitalise on.
"A lot of times when you're a director, you're dealing with actors who you're talking about how you want to do a scene and they're like, 'Yeah I don't know about that.'
"With comedians, because they live life onstage making fools out of themselves in front of people. They're like, 'I'm not afraid of anything.' So Adam from the onset was like, 'Do whatever you want, however you want to do this', and that's really liberating for me as a filmmaker."
Adam explained that he got some useful information about life in space when he and Renck had a call with the International Space Station.
He recalled: "They told us so many cool stories, and we got to watch them float around, and I was like, 'Oh, I've got to look like that.'
"They told me about life up there and what their days are like and how heartbreaking it is."
Tagged in Adam Sandler Carey Mulligan Paul Dano