Adam Sandler says ‘Spaceman’ director “didn’t want me sounding like me”
Adam Sandler has discussed his role in new movie, Spaceman, and how director Johan Renck stopped him from “sounding like me.”
In the new movie, released on Netflix on February 23rd, Sandler plays an astronaut facing ongoing marital issues who finds friendship with an extra-terrestrial spider.
Though he made his start in Hollywood as a comedy actor after being a cast member on Saturday Night Live, Sandler has evolved the breadth of his roles in recent years, most notably in Uncut Gems and Hustle. With Spaceman, the Happy Gilmore star has undertaken yet another serious role.
At the premiere on February 26th, Sandler revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that director Johan Renck, “Kept saying, ‘I want to see none of Adam Sandler in there.’ I understood, I hear that in my house too: ‘I want to see none of Adam Sandler.’”
After being asked how difficult it is to leave his comedic roots behind for a role, Sandler revealed, “I did my best. He didn’t want me sounding like me, he didn’t want me making faces. It was a difficult process.”
The movie follows Sandler’s character, an astronaut sent on a mission to the solar system’s edge. He leaves his life on Earth behind, which includes a pregnant wife, played by Carey Mulligan. Things start to fall apart for the astronaut, who winds up finding friendship with a giant extra-terrestrial spider on the ship, voiced by Paul Dano.
“I really like comedians in serious roles because I do think that there’s something about the fearless aspect to be a comedian that I can capitalise on,” said Renck to the same publication.
He continued: “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.’”
Watch the trailer for ‘Spaceman’ below.
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