Exploring inner and outer space

Janet isn’t particularly known but she is obviously an integral part to Neil’s story and his domestic life. The usual story we get told is the astronaut’s story — the story of the hero, the story of manned space exploration.

Like most people, I’d never really thought about the family I suppose.

So I saw Janet as the leader of that family and it’s very easy in that set-up, in a 1960s American house, to think that a man would be leading the household. He is the breadwinner, the one who goes to work, but it’s Janet who is the one keeping it together.

So I did some research but I never got to meet her and sadly she died quite recently. I would have loved to have met her — I really think she was interesting and amazing. She experienced something so singular, something that few people experience, and I have huge admiration for her and the incredible job she had in raising her boys. Yes, Eric and Mark. There was a certain amount of trepidation before I met them. You sort of feel that they might think ‘who are you coming in and telling the story of my mother?’. But they were just so lovely with me.

I think it helped that I wasn’t there to say ‘how did this feel’ and ‘how did that feel?’. I didn’t want to do any of that, but just wanted to know their memories of their parents. They just have such positive, lovely things to say about them. They speak so fondly of their Mum and Dad. I hated it! (laughs). No, I loved it. He is a genius — a very, very talented man. He is incredibly bright, incredibly open to the process of filmmaking and he loves collaborating, and he loves to know what people are thinking.

It’s so interesting watching him and Damien together and how they would really excite each other with an idea and just do it — like there was no kind of secondguessing it was ‘that’s great, let’s do that!’ I loved it. I was given so much freedom. And I felt very, very safe with Ryan. He is such a lovely person and so funny. He is what he seems, which is a really nice man. Yes. Janet and Neil lost their daughter when she was very young. People have said to me ‘do you think that’s why Neil went to the moon? Is that what really happened? Do you think that is true?’.

But nobody knows and Neil never spoke about anything but his silence after Karen’s death. It as something that was too painful to deal with. And people who have been into space say that it is the most spiritual experience. They really do have a bond. They decided to do First Man together before they decided to do La La Land. Ryan is also a director and he is brimming with ideas and so much of it is so relevant and informs the story and makes the film more, in a way, and Damien loves it — he wants those ideas because he is so collaborative.

So they are a really good fit; they encourage each other and understand each other