Get to Know Samara Weaving, Murderous Babysitter From Down Under
“There was a whole page in the script that just said ‘what the f–k’ on it,’” says Samara Weaving, recalling her first read through of the script for what would become her breakout American role, Netflix’s “The Babysitter.” “Like, they had taken the time to completely print no words other than ‘what the f–k’ on a piece of paper. And it’s true — that’s exactly the reaction. You read it and it needed an entire page of just that.”
The 25-year-old Aussie, who relocated to Los Angeles upon booking the lead role in the campy horror film about a murderous babysitter (fittingly out on Friday the 13th), is self-professed to be “terrible” at reading scripts and a “scaredy-cat” at that, but when Netflix called with something “fun and witchy,” she sat down and read.
After “The Babysitter,” Weaving will be seen in Showtime’s “SMILF,” premiering on Nov. 5; indie horror film “Mayhem,” out Nov. 10, and awards season bait “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” alongside Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Abbie Cornish.
“Because of the nature of this industry, it’s a bit dangerous to think far ahead,” she says. “So at the moment I’m just taking it day by day.”
Born in Adelaide, Weaving was uprooted as a baby for her parents’ work — her mom has a Ph.D. in ancient Singaporean art and her father in film noir — and her childhood was spent traveling between Fiji, Singapore, Indonesia and Italy.
“Because of the nature of our lifestyle, I had difficulty with shyness and making friends in new schools,” she says. “Someone suggested to my parents, ‘oh maybe she should try doing an acting class to bring her out of her shell.’ I think [what I liked about it] was that freedom of when you’re on a stage it’s not you personally that’s taking responsibility for a performance — you’re playing a character.”
She spent three years on the famed Australian soap opera “Home and Away” before landing in L.A. to make a go of it, and the roles have come quickly.
Still on the list? “I’ve had a passion to play Marilyn Monroe for a really long time,” she says. “I’m a little too young at the moment, but it’s on my bucket list.”
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