Hilary Swank reveals physical challenges of astronaut role

Hilary Swank says it was physically challenging preparing for her role as an astronaut.

The US star, 46, plays Emma Green, who prepares to lead an international crew to Mars, in Netflix series Away.

“There was a very specific physical regimen that we went through to pretend that we were in zero gravity, and a big part of that was understanding how it felt to be in zero gravity, even without ever experiencing it,” she said.

“So, we had to really be hung by our hips like a pendulum, so we had to have really strong abs and glutes in order to hold us in that position and make it look effortless. It was definitely a physical challenge.”

“One of the more physically challenging things for me in this preparation was the fact that I didn’t realise that I was as claustrophobic as I am. I have a major claustrophobia,” Swank added.

“And so when I put on my spacesuit, I almost passed out.

“So that was definitely a great physical obstacle that I had to overcome as a person in order to play this character.”

 Away launches on Netflix on Friday, September 4