Lost in Space's Mina Sundwall talks Penny Robinson and future seasons

Lost in Space’s Mina Sundwall talks Penny Robinson, drooling pterodactyls and future seasons.

Mina Sundwall plays Penny Robinson, the emotionally precocious middle child of the Robinson family. She often serves as the show’s spontaneous muse or its pulse. After a successful first season, Lost in Space is prepped to provide more and more of Penny and her family in future seasons.

Hidden Remote sat down with Mina to get a little personal information about her portrayal, Penny’s relationships, and future seasons of Lost in Space.

Mina: Hi! How are you?

Hidden Remote: Hi Mina! I’m doing great. How are you?

Mina: I’m doing really well, thank you.

Hidden Remote: I appreciate the opportunity. I’m ready to go if you are.

Mina: Yeah! I’m ready to go, whenever.

Hidden Remote: First and foremost, what drew you to Penny as a character?

Mina: Well, I think I – I think about this now, especially – when I was reading the script, the first scene I ever read was the scene between Penny and Judy on the ice. Where they’re reading Moby Dick. That as a whole, just the fact that she’s reading Moby Dick, on the ice, on the glacier, in the middle of a lost planet, and she’s the only one to think to bring her phone, or the only one who is a non-science person in a science family, being non-sciency is definitely something I can relate to. So there is immediately that kind of connection.

And, then, when I read more of the script, and felt the character even more, I saw that she’s very genuine. She’s very true to herself. And she doesn’t necessarily fit into every situation. No matter what, she never hides behind a mask or puts up a fake face. She’s always who she is, and proud of it. And that’s something I feel really good to get to play. She has a lot of qualities I aspire to be more like, and it’s what continues to draw me to her every day.

Hidden Remote: You sort of derailed me! I wanted to keep it light, so Penny ruined Moby Dick without a spoiler alert because it was written in 1851. How old does something need to be before the spoiler alert is off the table in Penny’s mind?

Mina: Ha! Well, I think one of the lines is, “It was written in 1851. You had your shot.” I think, you know, I’m gonna give it a good, let’s say 50 years. When something has been around for 50 years, we can talk about it without a spoiler warning.

Hidden Remote: Since Penny is the literature lover, what do you think her top three books of all time are?

Mina: I would definitely say she’s probably into Shakespeare. I think about this all the time. I would definitely say Hamlet, because it’s so complicated. Also, I’m actually reading it for my English class right now. I think that she would be into David Foster Wallace as a writer because he’s witty, and sarcastic, and very cynical, and that’s a lot of her personality. So, probably “Consider the Lobster” by David Foster Wallace. Maybe “Catcher in the Rye,” because it’s a kind of teenage rebellion. Very angsty.

Hidden Remote: It fits her personality really, really well. So, how much did you know about Lost in Space before reading the script?

Mina: I ummm, [clears throat], I aaaaahhh…

Hidden Remote: [laughing] Noted.

Mina: Not so much, actually. Neither one of my parents are American. They both are from Europe. So it was never really this kind of novelty in my household. I had heard of the phrase, “Danger Will Robinson” from difference references and TV shows. Max talks about Family Guy all the time. I heard it on Gilmore Girls. But, I never really connected it with a show until I read the new script. Then, of course, I did my research.

Photo credit: Lost In Space/Netflix — Acquired via Netflix Media Center /

Hidden Remote: Given you didn’t know a lot about it, you were surprised about a lot of what happened?

Mina: Definitely! I mean, reading the first script, it was like this is the premise of our show. [excited laughing] And I went with it!

Hidden Remote: Sounds good. Let’s get into some specifics. Judy is a doctor, Will is an engineer, Maureen is an aerospace engineer and mission commander, John is a Navy SEAL and a pilot. Aside from sarcasm and a sense of comedic timing, what’s Penny’s special skill? We know she’s true to herself and speaks her mind. Does she have a special skill we haven’t seen yet?

Mina: Well, I think because she’s philosophical, and very into literature as a person, when you are that kind of person in such an important space, life or death mission, then you become, she became the head of communications. I guess that’s Penny’s “job” inside the spaceship.

Hidden Remote: Excellent! That’s the first I’ve heard that. Hypothetically, what did Penny have planned at the waterfall?

Mina: [laughs] Well, listen, I mean, you can never go wrong with a little smooching action. She got it in the end, so I don’t know why she was complaining.

Hidden Remote: First date kind of stuff, yeah?

Mina: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, the cute. The innocent. The cute fun.

Hidden Remote: You just don’t know! She’s so wild and prone to exaggerated and spontaneous things, like yanking the bar on the vehicle, so you just don’t know what she’s going to do.

Mina: I guess not. I guess not.

Hidden Remote: Along that same line, that spontaneous nature, why does Penny cheat at cards?

Mina: Because, especially being the middle child that’s always kind of…she always feels like she’s cheated out of every situation. You know what I mean?

Hidden Remote: Yeah.

Mina: She feels gets the shorter end of the stick, and any little advantage, she’ll take it. Even if it’s cheating in a card game.

Hidden Remote: That’s a great answer. I expected you to really pause on that one because it’s random. You know, there has to be a reason why they put in the cheating at cards, and making her the middle child does make sense.

Mina: Yeah, it gives her the one-up. At least in one situation.

Hidden Remote: And using the reflection. I mean, who doesn’t cheat at cards some?

Mina: Yeah.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bfgcsy3FVoU/?hl=en&taken-by=minasundwall

Hidden Remote: In one scene you’re putting together a model with Will and you eat a little piece of food that is supposed to represent him. He called you a cannibal. Do you think cannibalism is a possibility if stranded in space?

Mina: [laughing] I think anything is possible stranded in space. Thankfully enough we did not resort to cannibalism on our show.

Hidden Remote: Yet.

Mina: But, you know, desperate times call for desperate measures. [laughing] Yeah, you never know. I’m hoping the writers don’t resort to cannibalism on our show. It is not something that I personally see for the future of Lost in Space. But, desperate times call for desperate measures. Whatever it takes.

Hidden Remote: If the writers do go that direction, do you eat your mother first because you compared her to steak?

Mina: [laughing] I didn’t even think of that. That’s very funny. Well, where would we be without Maureen. So, no, Maureen can’t go first.

Hidden Remote: It’s on your Instagram page. I had to do a little research. So, what do you think started the rivalry with Judy? Is it just the middle child syndrome?

Mina: I think it’s partially the middle child syndrome, but I also think it’s just this idea of some underlying insecurity that comes with being the younger sister. Especially having her be so close in age, because it’s like always being undermined without knowing what to do to get out of that position. There is nothing you can do to get out of the position of being younger, right? Then this mix of wanting to be useful, but not being useful in the sense she doesn’t understand the science like everyone else does.

I think we see throughout the season, she finds her own tasks, and how she can contribute what she can do. At the same time, there’s that internal struggle of wanting to be something she’s not.

Hidden Remote: Do you think scientific alienation would lead her towards a connection to Dr. Smith?

Mina: I think it depends. Dr. Smith has done a lot of very bad things to her family. When we find out what is really behind the mask of Dr. Smith, it is harder to connect, at least from Penny’s part, because family always comes first, right? So I think on some level, there might be a kind of similarity between the two personalities, but at the same time, I feel like Penny is more like that genuine, innocent air, that stays true to what she thinks is right. And that is her family.

Hidden Remote: On a scale of 1 to OMG, how cute is Maxwell Jenkins?

Mina: OMG times 100,000.

[both laughing]

Courtesy of Netflix, acquired from Netflix Press Site /

Hidden Remote: I wanted to stay on focus with you, but I had to ask a question about Maxwell. He’s adorable.

Mina: Yes, of course. Oh my goodness, he’s an amazing kid.

Hidden Remote: When the pterodactyl looking thing drooled into Penny’s face from a few inches away, why did she keep her mouth open? That’s what I really want to know.

Mina: Because she was so in shock! I don’t know what to do. What are you gonna do when a pterodactyl looking thing starts drooling in your face?

Hidden Remote: I don’t know. I close my mouth.

Mina: I was watching that scene and I thought that exact thought. My mind went, “Why is my mouth open?” And then I closed it at one point and I went, “Thank God,” because that could have gone really badly.

Hidden Remote: Well, if you’ve watched that movie The Descent, you know to turn around.

Mina: [relenting] Yeah.

Hidden Remote: Well alright, I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed.

Mina: Oooh no. I noticed them all.

Hidden Remote: What do you want to see in the inevitable future seasons of Lost in Space? What do you want to see from Penny and the show?

Mina: Well, firstly, I like the use of the word inevitable. That is a word I like to hear when talking about future seasons. I know from one side we’ll see more from Dr. Smith. I think we’ll be in a new world. Whether it’s one or more we’ll see. But, we’ll see both Penny and Will grow in their teenage years, and the changes and the challenges that relate to that.

For Penny in particular, I would like to see her come into herself a little more, and find her space within the family, but still with that rebellious, creative mindset. So you never really know what that means exactly. I definitely do not expect her to sit back and enjoy the ride. She always has an opinion on everything.

Hidden Remote: There wouldn’t be a better way than that. I think keeping her that way keeps everybody else on their toes.

Mina: Yeah, I mean, I hope so. It’s a lot more fun to play than sitting back and enjoying the ride.

Lost in Space’s Mina Sundwall talks Penny Robinson and future seasons

By Greg O'Shalae | May 21, 2018

Lost in Space’s Mina Sundwall talks Penny Robinson, drooling pterodactyls and future seasons.