Entertainment
Space Cadet’s Emma Roberts describes a high school science trauma
Emma Robertsnew movie Space Cadet finds her training as an astronaut, but science was not the actress’ “strong point” in high school.
“I remember having to get extra credit to pass my seventh-grade science class because cutting open the frog traumatized me,” Roberts, 33, said. We weekly exclusively in New York City Space Cadet premiere on Thursday, June 17. “I didn’t do that part well, and it counted for most of your grade.”
Roberts noted that she is “street smart” enough for a trip to space, but would be wary of the “science stuff.”
The actress plays Tiffany “Rex” Simpson in the Amazon MGM Studios film, a Florida girl who always has her eyes on the sky. After submitting an embellished (read: made-up) application, Simpson is accepted into NASA’s astronaut training program and “relies on her quick wits, moxie and determination to reach the top of her class,” according to the film’s official logline.
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Roberts underwent actual NASA training while preparing for the film.
“I loved going in as the anti-gravity spinny thing. I don’t know what it’s called,” she recalled YOUS. “My character was bummed in that scene and I couldn’t stop laughing.”
While Roberts was a big fan of the NASA aspect of the film, her costar was Desi Lydia (Dr. Stacy Kellogg) was not, tellingly Us that she would never go to space.
“It scares me. I don’t like standing in elevators. I don’t like roller coasters. I’m not a sensation-seeker,” she admitted. “I have so much admiration for anyone who would want to do that, and especially the women who are entering this field because it is such a male-dominated space.”
In the film, Roberts’ character focuses on achieving her big dreams – something she had to deal with.
Exes Emma Roberts and Garrett Hedlund kept a relatively low profile during their relationship, especially after the arrival of their son Rhodes. The couple was first linked in March 2019, almost a year before Us Weekly confirmed they were expecting their first child. Rhodes was born in December 2020. “It’s not something you do […]
“I feel like my mother was always the one who said, you can do whatever you want. No dream is too big, and I am super grateful for that,” she said. “Now that I’m in my 30s and have my own son, you just have a greater sense of the reality of the world.”
Roberts explained that her mother, Kelly Cunningham, raised her “to believe I was the best and could do anything,” which she wants to pass on to three-year-old son Rhodes. (Roberts shares Rhodes with ex-boyfriend Garrett Hedlund.)
“You don’t realize how rare that is until you get older,” she said.
Space Cadet premieres via Prime Video on Thursday, July 4.
With reporting by Andrew Nodell
