Constellation takes a terrifying trip into the unknown as an astronaut’s life falls apart when she returns home from space.
The eight-part series, airing on Apple TV Plus from today (Wednesday, February 21), centers on Jo Ericsson, played by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Django’s Noomi Rapace, who is part of a research mission at the International Space Station (ISS), and has been carrying out experiments for NASA scientist Henry Caldera (Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Jonathan Banks). But after something mysteriously crashes into the base, she faces a race against time to get back to Earth.
As Jo finally reunites with her husband Magnus (Obsession star James D’Arcy) and daughter Alice (Davina and Rosie Coleman) she experiences unsettling visions and her sense of reality shifts. Is there a connection to an eerie discovery she made in space?
Here, Noomi Rapace tells What To Watch about the drama in store in Constellation…
Constellation is a real rollercoaster of a show. What appealed to you about it?
“The scripts landed on my table and I was working on something else but I started reading a page to get a sense of it and two hours later, I was completely hooked! It just felt like it was meant to be and that it was written for me.”
How does Jo feel when she gets caught up in the disaster on the ISS?
“It hurts. She realises, ‘Maybe I made the wrong decision, maybe my choice to follow my dream as an astronaut might kill me, or I won't be able to get back to my family and my life.’ Jo is fragile and vulnerable and stuck in this extreme situation. But she manages to function because of her survivor brain and her training as an astronaut – she’s rational and a problem-solver.”
What’s it like when she gets home and worrying things happen to her?
“It’s like she is trapped somewhere else, she feels she’s in the wrong, and that everything is wrong around her, but she doesn’t know what is wrong and whether it is due to her or other people.”
We also see the impact on Jo’s relationship with her daughter Alice, don’t we?
“Yes, it’s about the battle between loving your work and being a parent and those different realities clashing and trying to figure things out. And Alice thinks, ‘What's going on?’ She is the heart of the show and it's brutal for her to not really recognise her mum.”
Was it hard to switch off after filming?
“I loved being in this world, but I brought it with me after we wrapped. And it made for a challenging shoot because I had nightmares and started doubting stuff in my life, I had several realities going on inside me!”
What was it like seeing the ISS set, which was constructed in a Berlin studio?
“The first time I stepped onto it, it took my breath away. I'd been obsessing over the ISS and watching videos on YouTube and it looked just the same. I was in awe, it was amazing, the team created something that felt so real.”
How did you find the scenes where Jo is in space and floating in zero-gravity?
“I was on wires and harnesses and my first rehearsal was a disaster! I thought, ‘I’ll never be able to float.’ I felt like a stone in water without any control. But I'm stubborn and I knew I had to be like a dancer and have core strength. I started working out a lot and stretching. And I had an incredible group of people working to make me look weightless.”
Did chatting to real astronauts, who were consultants on the show, help you get into character too?
“That was fascinating.I have so much respect for them. I feel I understand a little slice of what they do, and how they function now, but they’re almost like a different species.
“When [former NASA astronaut] Scott Kelly came on set, I felt like a schoolgirl who wanted his approval, because he’s quite tough. One time when he was standing by the monitor looking at my floating scenes, I was like, ‘Oh, goodness!’ But he said he believed it. That was a good day!”
The first three episodes of Constellation are available on Apple TV Plus now, with following episodes airing weekly.
