EXCLUSIVE | 'Away': Netflix star Adam Irigoyen opens up on representing the Hispanic community in the sci-fi drama
When actor Adam Irigoyen first read the script for Netflix's sci-fi drama 'Away', he was quite simply blown away. And now that the show is out on the streaming site, he can hardly wait for people to catch up with it.
In 'Away', Hilary Swank's Emma Green is an astronaut who must leave her family behind on Earth for three years in order to embark on an endeavor that is essential for not only science but also for the greater good of humanity. 'Away' is then a story about the numerous sacrifices that astronauts and their families have to make for the successful advancement of science and humanity.
The thrilling, emotional drama hooked Irigoyen immediately – and it wasn't only because it was a "cool" role, but because the show had a lot more to it. "I love it when a story that is pushed forward by the relationships that the audience creates with these characters."
While many of the stories on the show aren't exactly relatable since "not everybody's parents can go to Mars", each of the characters on the spaceship has made plenty of sacrifices to be there. Irigoyen says that his character empathizes with Swanks' daughter Lex (Talitha Bateman) because Isaac is well aware of the cost of sacrifices. "Isaac is there to sort of be her support system and be her escape from everything that she has going on," he tells MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) in an exclusive interview.
"(They) have so many similar experiences – obviously, they're not the same (not everybody's parents can go to Mars), but both of us have similar enough experiences to [build a strong] connection that we haven't been able to find with anybody else."
Elaborating on the character he plays, Irigoyen says, "When you first meet Isaac, you might think he's up to something or that he's this sort of bad boy. But at his core, he's just a sweet, genuine kid who is really doing his best to be there for Alexis."
'Away' scores big on the diversity aspect. Apart from Swanks, Bateman, Josh Charles, the series stars Ato Essandoh as Kwesi, Mark Ivanir as Misha, Ray Panthaki as Ram and Vivian Wu as Yu. Irigoyen points out how that is symbolic of the whole world coming together for a breakthrough endeavor. "You have a representative from almost every part of the world going to Mars [in a way or the other]. I kind of represent the Hispanic. It's so interesting because the show is about this kind of endeavor to space (for) tomorrow".
'Away' is currently streaming on Netflix.