Vivan Wu, Mark Ivanir (first and second from left) with the cast of ‘Away’

Some actors like a challenge. Others like pushing themselves physically to the point they have bruises.

Just ask Vivian Wu and Mark Ivanir, two of the stars of the Netflix series Away about the first manned mission to Mars, which debuts September 4. The show strives for a new level of scientific accuracy on television, depicting the astronauts in anti-gravity conditions. To simulate the effect, Wu, Ivanir and the rest of the space-going cast had to wear elaborate wire harnesses to film their scenes.

Related: We met the freaky cast of ‘The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.’ They have us enchanted.

Of course, neither actor hesitates to take on a challenging role. Ukrainian-born Ivanir landed his first big-screen role in 1993 for Steven Spielberg in Schindler’s List. Since then, he’s acted opposite heavyweight stars including Robert De Niro, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken.

China-born Wu grew up close to stardom, the daughter of the famous Chinese actress Zhu ManFang. She began appearing in movies at age 15, having a career breakout working for Bernardo Burdelucci in The Last Emperor. She’s since earned acclaim for performances in The Pillow Book, The Joy Luck Club and The Queens.

Queerty nabbed time to chat with Wu & Ivanir about Away, their love of a challenge and the secret passions of their characters that surface in the show. Away blasted onto Netflix September 4.

 

Video editor: David Beerman

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