Paul Dano voices the spider-like space creature Hanuš in ‘Spaceman,’ streaming on Netflix now

<p>Courtesy of Netflix</p> Hanus (voice by Paul Dano) in Spaceman

Courtesy of Netflix

Hanus (voice by Paul Dano) in Spaceman
In Adam Sandler’s new Netflix movie Spaceman, the actor plays a Czech astronaut alone in space on a mission — until he learns he is not alone at all.

The film follows Jakub (Sandler) as he struggles with being away from his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan) during a lengthy mission across the solar system. Soon enough, though, he meets a spider-like creature (voiced by Paul Dano) who proclaims to have traveled from the beginning of time across the universe.

Dano’s character, who largely refers to Jakub as “skinny human” throughout the new movie, finds a curiosity in the astronaut’s plight and the overall life of a human. He even offers to help Jakub work through his emotional turmoil related to his marriage.

Jakub at first appears startled by and afraid of the creature, but they eventually develop a certain kind of friendship while traveling to the edge of the solar system. Jakub ends up naming the creature Hanuš, after the 15th-century Czech man who is said to have built the Czech Republic’s famous astronomical clock in Prague, once the creature admits it has never held a name.
<p>Courtesy of Netflix</p> Spaceman

Courtesy of Netflix

Spaceman

Tommy McArdle
·3-min read

Paul Dano voices the spider-like space creature Hanuš in ‘Spaceman,’ streaming on Netflix now

<p>Courtesy of Netflix</p> Spaceman

Courtesy of Netflix

Hanus (voice by Paul Dano) in Spaceman
In Adam Sandler’s new Netflix movie Spaceman, the actor plays a Czech astronaut alone in space on a mission — until he learns he is not alone at all.

The film follows Jakub (Sandler) as he struggles with being away from his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan) during a lengthy mission across the solar system. Soon enough, though, he meets a spider-like creature (voiced by Paul Dano) who proclaims to have traveled from the beginning of time across the universe.

Dano’s character, who largely refers to Jakub as “skinny human” throughout the new movie, finds a curiosity in the astronaut’s plight and the overall life of a human. He even offers to help Jakub work through his emotional turmoil related to his marriage.

Jakub at first appears startled by and afraid of the creature, but they eventually develop a certain kind of friendship while traveling to the edge of the solar system. Jakub ends up naming the creature Hanuš, after the 15th-century Czech man who is said to have built the Czech Republic’s famous astronomical clock in Prague, once the creature admits it has never held a name.

Courtesy of Netflix

Spaceman
“You can obviously think of Hanuš as being a creature from the beginning of time, or you can think of him as being manifested by Jakub in his cabin-fever state and isolation in the spaceship as a companion to talk to,” Johan Renck, the movie’s director, said in press notes for the film.

Sandler acted on his own on the movie’s spaceship set, with the Uncut Gems star largely performing against a tennis ball. A “massive plush toy spider” and a “3D-printed little Hanuš face” were also used for the film’s crew and Sandler to visualize the creature, per production notes.

“Adam was working with a tennis ball and Johan had a friend who did some of the spider work [on-set] for him and Adam for his eyeline,” Dano recently told RogerEbert.com about how Sandler worked with his spider. “He was really isolated on that ship. And then there were a bunch of stages of post work.”

Courtesy of Netflix

Spaceman
“I would love to work with Adam more,” he added, noting that he grew up idolizing Sandler’s work in comedy. “Everybody’s always said this and now I can too — he’s the best. He’s a wonderful person to be around.”

Renck told Entertainment Weekly that Dano was always his first choice to voice the alien: “There’s just something about his cadence and this version of a shyness that he weirdly represents in a lot of the roles he’s played. Also, the fact that he can be a little creepy, to be honest.”

Sandler and Dano’s new movie is based on the 2017 novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Czech author Jaroslav Kalfař. Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini also star in the film.

Spaceman is streaming on Netflix now.