Netflix series Away: Hilary Swank talks about zero-G acting and her character’s mission to Mars
- Hollywood actress talks about her life in the movies and how she relishes taking a role that tests her
- She describes the challenging task of pretending to be in zero gravity and acting while hanging in a harness
Hilary Swank may have taken a punch in the boxing ring, but that was nothing compared to flying weightless, she says. Swank stars as an astronaut on her way to Mars in Netflix’s new series Away, premiering today.
“Pretending that you’re in zero G, zero gravity, it takes a lot of effort, and a lot of effort to make it look effortless,” she says.
“We were harnessed by the lower part of our hips, and they were acting as a pendulum. So we’d squeeze our glutes to move us forward, and then squeeze our abs to move us backwards. But the whole time we’re squeezing these muscles so tight and trying not to talk funny because of it,” she grins.
“The whole idea of being in zero G, you just naturally want to talk like you’re in slo-o-o-w motion _ which people don’t do in zero gravity. So it was, I think, for all of us a lot more challenging than we realised it would be.”