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Hilary Swank blasts off to space in new Netflix mini-series

The Bellingham-raised two-time Oscar winner stars in "Away," which starts streaming Friday, Sept. 4. #k5evening

In her newest project Away, Hilary Swank plays Emma Green, an American astronaut who leaves her family behind to command an international crew on a three-year mission to Mars. She says sacrificing family time to pursue a career is very relatable.

"I've been an actress since I was 16, and so I started traveling the world as a teenager without my family. And because I didn't finish school in a normal way, I found that to be a big part of my education."

Hilary's character is leading the mission, but that doesn't sit well with everyone on board. Ato Essandoh plays Dr. Kwesi Weisberg-Abban, a botanist who hopes they'll find that life is sustainable on mars. He explains how the series' narrative of everyone learning to work together despite having different interests relates to our current moment.

"We have had space programs where we are sharing resources with the Chinese and the Russians and the Japanese and all that, so I always wonder why we are so surprised that this is what we have to do for every problem that we need to solve," says Ato, "Whether it's going to Mars, whether it's a COVID pandemic, whether it's racial injustice, or any of those things that's how we solve all of our problems."

Shot in Vancouver, the series required actors to spend weeks learning to use wires to simulate zero gravity.

"Every day we were doing a little bit more and a little bit more -- and two weeks later we were up in the air doing flips," says Ray Panthaki. He plays Ram Arya, an Airforce pilot from India.

It's a mission that's truly out of this world.

Away starts streaming on Netflix Friday, Sept. 4. 

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