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Samara Weaving on her superhero transformation for Snake Eyes
Former Home and Away star Samara Weaving has certainly come a long way since leaving Summer Bay
The 29-year-old has since appeared in an Oscar-nominated film, she's currently working with fellow Aussies Margot Robbie and Phoebe Tonkin and Hollywood royalty Brad Pitt, and now she's playing a superhero in Snake Eyes - you could definitely say she's doing pretty damn well these days.
Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, Samara said she was thrilled when she found out she'd landed the role of Scarlett in the new Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins film – which is out now if your state isn't in lockdown.
Snake Eyes sees Henry Golding as the title character welcomed into an ancient Japanese clan called the Arashikage after saving the life of their heir. After arriving in Japan, the Arashikage teach Snake Eyes the ways of the ninja warrior and also provide him something he's never really had - a home.
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But when secrets from Snake Eyes' past are revealed, his honour and allegiance is tested - and it may mean losing the trust of those closest to him. Snake Eyes is faceless and mute in the comics, so the filmmakers decided to explore his origin story before he loses his voice, which definitely makes for a more engaging film!
"I was very excited and very nervous because yes she is such a badass and I had to somehow represent that, so quite daunting but very fun at the same time," she said of Scarlett.
One thing that was probably most daunting was the fact Samara had to essentially turn into a fighting machine after playing Claire Wood in Hollywood, the polar opposite of Scarlett.
"There was one other film I did where it was really heavily based in the stunts but with this [film], I think her physicality was so important," she said. "I mean, I looked up the cartoon version of her and I was like, 'There's no way I can get that big in so little time!' So I got myself a personal trainer Dan Adair, he's Australian and he's very, very good. And we tried to get me as big as possible.
"And then when I touched down in Japan. We went straight into really intensive choreographed fight sequences which was really fun, but yeah very, very challenging," the star added.
"But if you can't sleep just go and learn fights for eight hours a day and you will sleep so well," she joked.
When asked if she felt totally transformed by the training Samara responded, "Yeah! But then I was also very excited to just not have to do weights every day."
"I hadn't really done [weight training] before... and then it was so depressing how quickly [my muscles] all left. I was like, 'This will last for a while!' And it was gone in like a month or so!"
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura joked in a statement about Samara that she is "unexpectedly good at violence", adding, "She has a wholesome mum-and-apple-pie appearance, but she can kick ass. You expect a villainess will be able to do that, but you don’t always figure the good girl will be into it."
When we asked if she took that as a compliment, she told us, "I'll take that! I guess, don't judge a book by its cover!"
Speaking of her newest role in Babylon, where she stars alongside Margot Robbie, Olivia Wilde, Tobey Maguire and Brad Pitt, Samara said she never could have imagined this for herself.
"No way!" she said. "It's like getting an invitation to the coolest party in high school and you're like, 'Did they make a mistake? Are you sure?'"
Despite working on such huge films with A-list stars, Samara says she still gets starstruck, "It's so annoying. My brain just breaks and I become this weird stuttery lady."
"I remember at the Oscars, which is wild, I was walking and I saw Steve Carell, and for whatever reason, my brain just decided to break that time, and I let out like - a noise came out of my mouth. And he was so nice. I acted like I knew him already, but I'd never met him and I was like 'Hi!'... and he was so nice to me but I was so embarrassed. I was so starstruck. That whole Oscars was so nuts, I was walking around like, 'Oh my God!'"
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is out now in cinemas.
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