Entertainment Tonight: What attracted you to this role?

Tim Robbins: The main reason I did this movie was that my children wanted me to be in an action-adventure movie where I had a little figure made. I had turned down some movies that were too far from home in a distant location -- I tend not to do those. We were in a toy store and they saw the figure from that particular movie and said, "Dad, look what you could have been! Look! That could be you! Why didn't you do that?" I told them I would have been away for six or seven months and I asked, "Would you rather have me gone for six or seven months, or would you rather have the plastic thing?" They said, "The plastic thing." [laughs]

ET: That's their quotient to success for you?

Tim: They think that I've arrived if I have a little plastic thing made of me. Anyway, I did this movie for that reason and now it turns out they're not going to do plastic figures for this movie. It might be too intelligent a movie for that kind of thing. Maybe they figure people aren't going to buy those things to do witty dialogue. They just want to bang and crash them into things. My kids can still see the movie, since it is a PG movie. That's good.

ET: As a director yourself, how was it working with BRIAN DE PALMA?

Tim: I'm not a director when I'm working as an actor. I draw that clear distinction. I don't want to have anything to do with the vision of the film or the imagining of the film. It's my role just to figure out who the character is and to fit him into someone else's vision.

ET: I would think that would be hard to do.

Tim: Not at all. When you take on the responsibility and burden that the film is your vision, you really have to see that through. Once you've directed a film you're less likely, as an actor, to try to dominate that kind of thing. Suggesting shots, for example. It's not your place. Your place is to figure out your lines, to be responsible with them, be on time, and to be an efficient part of the machinery of the movie. That machinery is serving the director's vision. If you have too many people suggesting things, it just becomes a mess. It's an uncomfortable situation -- it's not something you want to be involved in. Certainly any idea I have can be a legitimate one, as an actor. If I have a great idea for a shot, it could be great. It could be better than the director's, but it's not the director's. And that's the important thing, it's got to ultimately be him that's cutting it in the editing room. It's got to be him that's molding it to create one vision.

ET: Speaking of visions, this is such an effects-generated movie. As an actor, is it difficult to work with something outside of the scene?

Tim: No, it's the same rules, the same reality. You have to sell the truth. You have to try to figure out who you are in a scene and try to be honest in your emotions. That's basically the same. The only difference is that they are creating more of a picture behind you. You still have distractions, there's always going to be distractions when you're doing a movie. There's a crew behind you. There's all kinds of things that aren't reality.

ET: You guys went down to NASA for the spring show watch. Were you a part of that?

Tim: No, no.

ET: Did you spend a lot of time with NASA people?

Tim: I spent a lot of time with the technical advisor on the film. I had a lot of conversations with him-- dinners, philosophical discussions, discussions about space.

ET: Are you a space fan?

Tim: No, that's not been one of my consuming passions. That's the great thing about being an actor. You find yourself in situations, which really are not where your obsessions lie, but you are invited in as an insider to information that you would receive in your regular existence. All of a sudden you find yourself talking to someone who has been in space more than any other human being. All of a sudden you are talking to prison guards in the middle of Ohio, in 'Shawshank Redemption.' There's so many surprises that live out there. It's a wonderful way to make a living-- my horizons are constantly expanding. I'm constantly learning.

ET: You have the inquisitions to share and get information as it comes to you.

Tim: Yeah, and part of being an actor is to have the humility that you don't know it all, there are people who know more than you, and you can learn from them. Especially people you are about to play. You have to be non-judgmental and open to see who these people are.

ET: How was it working with GARY [SINISE], who has been in space films before?

Tim: Well, I like Gary Sinise a lot. We have very similar backgrounds in theater and directing in theater. He's a really great actor and someone I really admired. So it was a great opportunity to work with him.

ET: I would imagine he brought a lot to this film because he had played an astronaut before.

Tim: Yeah, but he didn't walk onto the set and say, "I know more than you because I did 'Apollo 13.'" No, he's great.

ET: How were the suits?

Tim: They are like any other costume. It's like saying, "How's your jacket?"

ET: How was the weightlessness stuff?

Tim: That was all right. It was fun.

ET: It looks like it would be a lot of fun from the audience's perspective to be able to go up like that, but I imagine there's a lot more involved.

Tim: You have to help it out, you have to be in shape. Make it look effortless and that takes a lot of energy. I didn't have a problem with it. It was fun.

ET: A lot of people talk about this film being a science-fiction film, but this is a lot more than just a science-fiction film. There's a real relationship going on.

Tim: No, it's very human in a lot of ways. I think it's very moving in a way, emotional. You care about these people. I think JERRY (O'CONELL) is very funny, DON (CHEADLE)is great, CONNIE (NIELSON), and Gary , and these are all people that you care about.

ET: Do you have any beliefs of your own about extra-terrestrial life?

Tim: I haven't seen them, so I can't say. I believe it's possible. I have heard that they exist, but I haven't seen them with my own eyes. So until I do, I can't totally believe.

ET: So you leave the door open?

Tim: Oh yeah, I think it's possible. In this vast universe, we can't be the only ones. The only planet with life on it, I can't imagine that to be true.

ET: I thought it was unique in this film to have a husband and wife team on a mission like this. That hasn't happened before with NASA.

Tim: Well, there are husband and wife teams.

ET: Going out on the same mission together.