The Netflix<\/a> sci-fi flick sees Sandler take on the role of a Czech astronaut named Jakub Proch\u00e1zka, who finds himself conversing with a large spider (Paul Dano) while on a mission to the outer edge of the galaxy shortly after the collapse of his marriage.<\/p>\n That might sound like an outlandish comic premise, but the film is actually played fairly straight, with the spider inviting Jakub to engage in some self-reflection and find a way forward in his tumultuous personal life.<\/p>\n Spaceman is directed by Chernobyl\u2019s Johan Renck, and ahead of the release, the Swedish filmmaker spoke to RadioTimes.com<\/a> about how he came to cast Sandler in the lead role.<\/p> \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it was actually serendipity, to be honest,\u201d he said. \u201cI was in Los Angeles, doing some s**t, and I had a bunch of general meetings with actors, which you do every now and then \u2013 you have this kind of session of meeting various actors to see, do we like each other? Is there anything we have in common? And so on.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cAnd Adam was one of those meetings. And that meeting was an immensely great meeting, for a lot of reasons, because I was a big fan of Adam, I really wanted to meet him. I wanted to see what he was like, blah, blah.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then he said, \u2018What about this space film I hear you\u2019re doing?\u2019 and then we struck up a conversation with regards to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Renck said that following the meeting, he couldn\u2019t shake the idea of giving the role to Sandler \u2013 for one reason in particular.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter we parted, I realised that if Jakub Proch\u00e1zka actually is an extension of me, who\u2019s my dream actor to play myself?\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to be Adam Sandler. So that\u2019s it!\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the director also praised Sandler for managing the \u201ctremendous challenge\u201d of acting most of his scenes alone, given that he had no other actors to interact with on set for pretty much the entirety of the film.<\/p>\n \u201cA big part of your acting experience is about the dance with your counterpart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like you\u2019re saying something and the other person is saying something and you respond, and this becomes this kind of an interaction that sort of guides your own performances and triggers your instincts in terms of how to respond or whatever happens to you.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam did all of this not only hanging in various contraptions and wires\u2026 he also did it against a tennis ball for an eyeline and me or somebody else around the corner reading out the lines with a performance that, you know, is lacklustre \u2013 primarily when I did it.\u201d<\/p>\n But he said that speaking to Sandler after production had finished, the actor told him that although this process had presented some difficulties, for him he had also found the experience quite \u201cliberating\u201d.<\/p>\n He explained: \u201cAny actor will have issues with confidence and self-esteem and stuff like that, and how your performance is going to be judged by the other actor.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he says, on the one hand, it was really difficult, but on another hand, he was free to do whatever the f**k he wanted, without being inhibited by himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/SPMN2021061109164R2-718393e-1.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Adam")
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