Guests

Michael Ironside has made a strong and indelible impression over the years with his often incredibly intense and explosive portrayals of villains. He was born Frederick Reginald Ironside on February 12, 1950, in Toronto, Canada. Ironside first began acting in films in the late 1970s. He gained recognition for his role as Darryl Revok in director David Cronenberg’s Scanners (1981). Subsequently, another charismatic role followed another. Among the most famous ones are V (1983), Top Gun (1986) and Highlander 2 (1991). Collaboration with director Paul Verhoeven was also a success and Ironside appeared in two of his entertaining science fiction feature films. As the villainous Richter in Total Recall (1990) and as the tough Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in Starship Troopers (1997). Ironside showed his softer and more suggestive side with his moving performance as a convict who befriends a disabled man in the drama Chaindance (1990); he also co-wrote the screenplay and executive produced the film. He has starred in a large number of TV series, including SeaQuest DSV (1993), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), ER (1995), The Outer Limits (1997), Andromeda (2000), Desperate Housewives (2004), Stargate (2006), Patient Seven (2018) and Barry (2022). Ironside’s most recent film is a Canadian drama about the creation of the BlackBerry mobile phone (2023). In addition to his significant film and television work, Ironside has lent his distinctive deep voice to television commercials and video games.

The talented and versatile Nicolas Giraud (born 1978) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. As an actor, he has played roles in the blockbuster 96 Hours (2008, directed by Pierre Morel), the romantic drama What the Day Owes the Night (2012, directed by Alexandre Arcady) and the drama Letters from the Front (2017, directed by Xavier Beauvois). Nicolas is also a director; Astronaut is his second feature film. His short film Weaknesses was awarded at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

Yemi Akinyemi Dele (born 1981) is a world-renowned Czech choreographer, actor, visual artist, art director, performer, influencer and entrepreneur. He was selected out of 1 million candidates to be a member of the crew of dearMoon – the first civilian space journey around the moon, organized by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa with SpaceX. Yemi will undergo special training for the newly developed Starship, which is the most powerful spacecraft ever built and is currently still under development.

Aleš Svoboda (born 1986) is a Czech fighter pilot, Captain in the Czech Army. He serves at the 21st Tactical Air Force Base in Čáslav, where he flies the JAS-39 Gripen aircraft. In November 2022, he succeeded in the European Space Agency selection process and became a member of the astronaut reserve team. He succeeded among more than 22,500 applicants. He is the first astronaut of the independent Czech Republic.