Samara Weaving on New Motherhood, Horror Movies, and the Myth of Having It Together

There should probably be a more formal way to discover that you have to deliver the placenta after the baby. Instead, Samara Weaving learned about it through a group chat with her friends. Eight weeks after giving birth, the actress recounts the story while laughing during her appearance on Not Skinny But Not Fat, all while admitting that childbirth isn’t always “natural and beautiful.”

But it’s not all baby talk. Weaving chats with host Amanda Hirsch about Australian soap operas, scream queen status, plus her new film Carolina Caroline. There are stories about getting trapped in a car trunk on set, accidentally becoming known for one of Hollywood’s most iconic screams, and throwing an anti-baby shower where they watched Juno (wait, what?).

Samara Weaving on New Motherhood, Horror Movies, and the Myth of Having It Together

Below are the highlights from the conversation, adapted from the episode.

What was it like doing press while you were literally about to give birth?

“I did press for Over Your Dead Body. I was having contractions…That was two days before I gave birth. The baby was coming, and I watched the interviews back and you can see, I think I just look a bit dumb because I like go to answer a question and I kind of pause, and it’s because I was having a full contraction…Jason Segel is going, ‘Do we need to put a tarp down,’ like ‘Is it coming?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know, but let’s push this movie so…’

…I think I got really lucky, one because my first trimester was rough, so doing press for the movie when I couldn’t really tell anyone, and I was so sick, that was really hard. But I got really lucky that the rest of the pregnancy was fine.”

How would you describe what motherhood has felt like so far?

“I don’t know, maybe like six months, a year I’ll look back and be able to explain how I was feeling. But right now, it’s like one day at a time. Let’s just get through this, you know. I can’t really put a word to how I’m feeling. I’m sure someone can explain it better than I can because your brain is kind of like, just taking it day by day.”

You found out you have to deliver the placenta… when exactly?

“Most of my girlfriends have had kids now, and we have a little baby club chat…They were like, ‘Oh yeah, do you wanna get your placenta made into a vitamin? ‘’ and I was going, ‘What are you talking about?’ They were like, ‘Oh you have to push out the placenta.’ I’m going, ‘OK, so I’m giving birth twice, is that what you’re telling me?’”

Tell us everything about your emo baby shower.

“I did like a horny emo baby shower. Like I wore a shirt that says ‘I’ve literally never met a man,’ you know, like it was, it was really fun…I was like, let’s be punk, man. Let’s be punk and then we watched Juno at the end, which is one of my favorites.”

What drew you to ‘Carolina Caroline?’

“It’s just a classic, like, drama, romance, crime thriller. It’s a movie that, like growing up, I loved those kinds of films. So I was really excited to be a part of it because it’s a movie that, like I was like, ‘I want to go see this.’”

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Was mastering a Southern accent intimidating?

“It was so fun, I mean, it’s scary because I really wanted to make sure I get it, I got it right, but I have a fantastic dialect coach and we worked really hard and we found like a recording of a woman who sounded like that, and yeah, just recreated it, like kept on practicing it.”

You’ve become synonymous with horror. Did this role satisfy a different creative itch?

“I’ve done a few roles that don’t require me to be covered in blood, and it’s always a delight. So I’d love to do more films that are of a different genre. I love doing horror and horror comedies, and it’ll always have a place in my heart, but…I just like a good challenge, and, you know, this one was really challenging in such a different way. To be vulnerable and, you know, like, kind of lean into a different side of myself. Because playing a badass, you know, you kind of have a bit of a wall up, this was the complete opposite side of the spectrum, and it was a really rewarding experience, and I’m glad that people are responding well.

Is it true you got trapped in a car trunk while filming?

“Yeah, I got locked in, which is the fear of my life…So there’s a scene where I have to like get in the boot of a car, but it’s an old car and so there’s no button that releases the latch, you have to use like a manual key to open it, and no one could find the key….I’d say [I was locked in] like 20 minutes.”

Did getting your start on ‘Home and Away’ feel like an Australian rite of passage?

“I was on Home and Away…There’s two [major Australian] soaps, there’s Neighbours and Home and Away. Home and Away’s the cool one cause it’s set on a beach, Neighbours is set on a street, whatever. And we were on a little later, so we could be a little bit more risque…Pretty much I had done a crime show called Out of the Blue before then, where I just played a bratty teenager. Just played myself, and then yeah, during school and after school, high school, I was on Home and Away, yeah, for about three years and that was my first. I think I must have been 15 when I started…Australia’s pretty good with kids that wanna act…I remember having a very normal school like still being able to go to school and film.”

What was high school like when you started booking acting jobs?

“The girls are brutal…I remember coming to school once and because I thought like, ‘Hey, I’m on telly, yeah, I’m gonna be in the A group now. I’m moving on up.’ No, there were people that were printing my like headshot and writing mean things on it.”

Did you always expect to become a scream queen?

“One of my first jobs, I think I was 18…There was a scene where the house is attacking me, and the director just goes, ‘OK, we’re gonna push in on you and just scream.’ And so I did, and I remember as I’m screaming, I was like, ‘Hey man, this is a pretty good scream…’”

This year has been huge professionally. Does it feel that way from your perspective?

“Yeah, it’s been pretty wild…I think a lot of women, it’s tough in this industry. When you want to have a child and take time off, Hollywood’s pretty brutal. They might be going, ‘Sorry, who are you?’ Like you’re not working for two years, [they’ve] forgotten about you, bye, so it was quite, amazing that, and just for my anxiety that during pregnancy I had three films to promote and then and now she’s back and now I’m back so it felt like, OK, this is great.”

To hear the full conversation, listen to Not Skinny But Not Fat wherever you get your podcasts.

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