Toby Stephens suits up for a reboot of sci-fi series Lost in Space, about a family marooned on a planet

TOBY STEPHENS blasts off in an impressive netflix reboot of the much-loved 1960s sci-fi adventure lost in space

NEW SCI-FI

Lost in Space

From Friday 13 April, Netflix

‘DANGER, WILL ROBINSON, DANGER!’ The 1960s series Lost in Space, featuring space pioneers the Robinson family, their trusty Robot, and the mischievous Dr Smith, is fondly remembered as a slightly camp and very wholesome cult classic among sci-fi fans.

This week, the show gets a longoverdue 21st-century reboot. It returns to the small screen in a Netflix series starring Toby Stephens as patriarch John Robinson, whose family are stranded on an uncharted planet while on a mission to find a new home for the imperiled inhabitants of Earth.

Set 30 years in the future, the 10-part series follows the space colonists whose spacecraft, the Jupiter 2, is separated from their mothership, The Resolute, after encountering a space-time rip. They must then pull together to survive in this new environment and reconnect as a family.

We caught up with Stephens, star of Die Another Day and

Black Sails, to find out more…

TOBY, YOU WERE BORN AFTER THE ORIGINAL Lost in Space FIRST AIRED. HAVE YOU WATCHED IT AND ARE YOU A SCI-FI FAN? I vaguely remember watching re-runs of Lost in Space as a kid, but I was a more into the original series of Star Trek and Space 1999. I’ve always been a sci-fi fan, and when I saw Star Wars in the cinema aged seven, it just blew my head off. Sci-fi created a whole new world in my imagination.

THE FAMILY DYNAMIC IS A KEY PART OF THE SHOW, ISN’T IT? I remember early on discussing with Molly Parker, who plays my wife, Maureen Robinson, that it was important that the parents weren’t just token characters. John and Maureen have a relationship that isn’t working, and it’s about whether they can resolve these issues and become better parents and partners.

WHAT SORT OF FATHER IS YOUR CHARACTER, JOHN ROBINSON? He’s a soldier at a time when, for reasons that emerge, they are dealing with the breakdown of law and order on Earth. This has sort-of estranged him from his wife and children. But did he choose to do that, or was it unavoidable? It’s complicated, and I like that.

HOW DO THE ROBINSONS COPE IN

THIS NEW SITUATION? They’re on this planet where every situation they are in is perilous. The reason this series is so good is that it’s taking the usual family domestic issues and putting them in this totally bizarre environment millions of light years away from Earth.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE NEW Lost in Space ROBOT? I love the relationship between John’s son

Will – who’s this hyper-intelligent, vulnerable child – and this incredibly powerful alien robot who ends up protecting him. It gives Will this paternal protection and connection that my character hasn’t provided.

IF WE DO HAVE TO LEAVE THE EARTH, WHAT SKILLS WOULD YOU OFFER?

I don’t think they’d let me on the ship. I’ve got absolutely nothing, it’s so depressing! These people have to pass stringent tests to get on the mission. Seriously, it’s a sobering thought that we may have to colonise space. What if we go to a planet and discover it’s totally uninhabitable – or it’s got creatures on it who just don’t want us there?

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT’S HAPPENED TO YOU ON HOLIDAY WITH YOUR WIFE AND CHILDREN? There was one instance where we lost one of our children for a moment. It was truly terrifying and I don’t think I’ve ever felt so panicked.

YOU PLAYED A YOUNG VERSION OF CLINT EASTWOOD’S CHARACTER IN HIS SCI-FI FILM Space Cowboys. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE? He was one of my icons growing up and I remember being pretty terrified, but in fact Clint couldn’t have been nicer. YOUR PARENTS WERE ALSO BUSY ACTORS (DAME MAGGIE SMITH

AND SIR ROBERT STEPHENS)

WHEN THEY WERE BRINGING UP YOUNG KIDS. DO THE DEMANDS OF THE JOB MAKE FAMILY

LIFE HARDER TO MANAGE?

We’re very fortunate that we’ve managed to make it work.

British actors have to be able to travel, especially these days, and when it first started happening, it was difficult as you’re away for months at a time. When I was a kid, you just had to deal with it. I was at school with kids from military families who were in the same situation – their parents were abroad and they saw them in the holidays.

‘I love the relationship between John’s son Will and this incredibly powerful alien robot’ toby stephens