Everything to Know About Adam Sandler's Mysterious Spider Friend in Netflix'sSpaceman

Mar. 15, 2025

Courtesy of Netflix

InAdam Sandler’s new Netflix movieSpaceman, the actor plays a Czech astronaut alone in space on a mission — until he learns he is not alone at all.

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.

Spaceman.Courtesy of Netflix

Sandler acted on his own on the movie’s spaceship set, with theUncut Gemsstar 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.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“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 toldRogerEbert.comabout how Sandler worked with his spider. “He was really isolated on that ship. And then there were a bunch of stages of post work.”

“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 toldEntertainment Weeklythat 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.”

Spacemanis streaming on Netflix now.

source: people.com