One of Ryan Murphy’s favorite actors for his “American Horror Story” franchise, Emma Roberts was sawn in half, playing a ruthless witch and a final girl facing off against a serial killer. Most recently, she was a pregnant actor who was targeted by a cult.
When the opportunity arose to play a college dropout turned NASA intern in the romcom “Space Cadet,” she was taken by the change in tone.
“This movie feels a little bit nostalgic, early 2000s in a way, but also fresh and fun,” Roberts said in an interview.
Roberts is an executive producer and stars in the film, which premieres Thursday on Prime Video. She is Rex, a young woman who had big dreams growing up to become an astronaut, but whose adult reality has taken a different path. Rex is working as a bartender when she is accepted into a NASA trainee program. The film stars Tom Hopper, Poppy Liu of “Hacks” and Gabrielle Union.
The script reminded Roberts of “Private Benjamin” and “Legally Blonde,” and she was excited to play “the underrated female character who ends up surprising people in unexpected ways.”
It was her previous work in “American Horror Story” that convinced writer and director Liz W. Garcia that Roberts could play Rex.
“The genre itself may be horror, but she always has a wink,” Garcia said. “This is Hollywood blonde stuff and playing with that archetype. Emma really loved the idea of having a Goldie Hawn moment for herself by focusing on physical comedy and something more heightened. She was real, it turns out , brilliant.”
In a Q&A, Roberts spoke more about “Space Cadet” and other topics, including mothering a boy, producing and her book club. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.
ROBERTS: Yeah, I feel like we’re feeling the impact of the strikes more now than we did last year, which is ironic. Between the strikes and COVID, we’ve just been living in such unprecedented, strange times. I am so grateful for the TV show I executive produce, “Tell Me Lies,” which just wrapped filming on its second season. With ‘Space Cadet’ I’m excited to put something out there that I think will make people laugh and hopefully feel a little inspired.
ROBERTS: I’m so excited for people to see season 2. It’s more unexpected than people think. Our showrunner, Meaghan Oppenheimer, is incredible. She really took this show to a new level. With TV shows it’s fun, especially in a second season, to turn everything upside down. I think we’ve definitely done that and I can’t wait to see people’s reactions.
ROBERTS: We love space. Our thing is he puts on his pajamas and then we go outside and look at the stars before he goes to bed, and he says, “There are so many stars.” There is a childlike wonder about space at any age, but I don’t hear many young girls say they want to be astronauts. I’d love to hear more young girls, or even just young people in general, say that.
ROBERTS: My mother has a sister. I have a sister. We are all like sisters, mothers, daughters. There are so many girls around. I was convinced I was having a girl. I thought, ‘I know. It’s intuition. I’m having a girl.” They said it was a boy, and I was like, “Huh?” but I love it. I definitely had to brush up on my basketball and soccer skills. I was a little rusty so I’m trying to dive in. I will say that as a boy mom I have saved a lot of money on clothes because you just throw them in whatever. I see little girl things and I think, “Oh my God.” I would be broke if I had a daughter because everything is so cute.
ROBERTS: I was really impressed with her. I’m still impressed with her. I mean, everything she does is impressive. She’s a mother. She is a businesswoman and now an actress. She also has “The Kardashians,” which I watch. My bodysuit under my dress is actually SKIMS, if we’re being honest. I just love her. We’re making a show called “Calabasas” with (“Pretty Little Liars” creator) I. Marlene King, and we’re all executive producers. We’re both from Calabasas, California, which is so funny. She’s so nice. She’s up for anything, I’m really looking forward to working with her on something else.
ROBERTS: It’s funny. You never know when he’s going to ask you to do something—which is what I love about him—and then you see his name pop up on your phone and you’re like, “Okay, what are we doing?” It’s always a yes for Ryan. His stuff is always so inspired and the worlds he builds are so uniquely his.
ROBERTS: It’s been seven years now and it’s been so great to see the community grow. It really makes me so happy when people stop me on the street and say, “Emma!” And I think, “What are they going to say?” And they say, “What should I read?” I love being a curator even for my friends, especially in the summer or when they go on long trips. I’m like, ‘Okay, where are you going? What is your atmosphere? How long is the flight? I am going to recommend three books for you to take with you.” It brings me so much joy.
ROBERTS: You know, I would. I’ve been thinking about maybe short stories or something. Maybe when I’m seventy, and I don’t care what people think, I’ll write a memoir (laughs). Yes, I would really like to do something. I want to write children’s books. My mom and I have talked about doing that together, and I think it would be a lot of fun, especially now that I have a son who loves to read.
ROBERTS: He can read “Goodnight Moon” from cover to cover, and I’m so proud. My biggest achievement so far is that he loves to read. That makes me happy.
