American actor Chris Evans, who made such a searing impression as the Human Torch in Fox’s 2005 hit comic book adaptation Fantastic Four, was cast as Mace, the ship’s Engineer. “Mace is from a military family and background and he’s very cut and dry, morally uncomplicated,” explains Evans. “He is the guy on board who understands exactly the way the ship works and has a very level head which enables him to operate fairly coherently under pressure-filled situations.”

“Chris is tremendous,” says Boyle.  “When we met him we just knew he was the real thing. A serious, thoroughbred actor, prepared to do anything. I liked him immediately and cast him very quickly. He has got the confidence and is someone who’s on the brink of something quite big.”

“Danny is this amazing storyteller,” Evans notes. “When you make a decision to do a film you have to consider who’s going to be telling the story, and when it’s someone of Danny’s calibre you jump at the chance. It’s nice having a director that you trust with every bit of your emotion, to know that his internal barometer of what is good and what is bad won’t steer you wrong, so you are willing to take risks and chances. There’s no better feeling for an actor to come to work and know that you get to explore and feel safe.”