Overview of Not Skinny But Not Fat with Samara Weaving
Amanda Hirsch chats with actress Samara Weaving about her new film, motherhood, and her career path from Australian soap operas to Hollywood scream queen status. The conversation is playful and wide-ranging: they talk postpartum life, pregnancy cravings, placenta pills, Samara’s signature scream, her love of indie romance-thrillers, and how being an actor can be both glamorous and deeply unglamorous.
Major Topics Discussed
Motherhood and postpartum life
- Samara had given birth only about eight weeks before the interview.
- She shares that:
- Her first trimester was rough and she had to do press while keeping the pregnancy private.
- Her cravings were mostly oranges and watermelon.
- She tried the much-talked-about placenta pills/gummies after learning about them from friends.
- She’s taking motherhood day by day and says it may take months before she can fully articulate how she felt in those early weeks.
- She and Amanda bond over the intense, bizarre realities of pregnancy and childbirth:
- hospital exams still feeling “cavewoman”-level,
- the brutality of labor,
- and the fact that men get no real say in the process.
Working while pregnant
- Samara says she was doing press while having contractions, and that one interview was just two days before she gave birth.
- Despite the timing, she felt lucky that the rest of her pregnancy was relatively smooth.
- Amanda praises her for showing up and doing publicity while visibly near labor, calling it heroic.
Her new film: Carolina Caroline
- Samara discusses her new movie, which Amanda repeatedly and humorously mispronounces as “Carolina Caroline.”
- She describes it as a:
- 90s-set indie
- romance/crime/thriller
- with strong Bonnie and Clyde energy.
- Samara loved that the movie gave her something different from her usual horror work:
- more emotional vulnerability,
- more romance,
- and less blood.
- She says the script made the chemistry and emotional beats easy because the writing was so strong.
- Amanda says the movie made her cry and feel like she wanted to watch more movies again.
Playing a more romantic, vulnerable role
- Samara says she’s often known for tougher, horror-adjacent roles, but this movie let her lean into a different side.
- She liked that the film flips the usual “bad boy corrupts girl” dynamic and instead gives her character more agency.
- She also jokes that the movie requires a certain kind of delivery if you want the flirtatious lines to work in real life.
Horror, screams, and “scream queen” status
- Amanda brings up Samara’s reputation for having one of the best screams in Hollywood.
- Samara explains:
- She didn’t grow up loving horror films.
- She became comfortable with them only after acting in them.
- Her scream seemed to emerge naturally on an early project, and people have asked her to use it ever since.
- She says jump scares still get her, but she now appreciates horror as a genre.
- She’s proud to be counted among the modern scream queens.
Australian background and early career
- Samara talks about growing up in Australia and starting acting young.
- She was on Home and Away as a teenager and also appeared in other early roles.
- She says she knew she wanted to act after watching Pirates of the Caribbean and realizing she wanted to be part of that world.
- She was drama captain in school, which she says was extremely nerdy.
- She also recalls being teased at school after getting TV work, showing that early success didn’t automatically make her popular.
Family, sisters, and support system
- Samara mentions her younger sister, who is a researcher at Stanford and is described as the “smart one.”
- Her family seems very supportive, and her sister is helping with the baby.
- She says she’d happily move back to Australia someday, though she’s gotten used to the pace of life in the U.S.
Australian industry and culture
- She and Amanda talk about how Australians tend to be blunt, dry, and self-deprecating.
- Samara explains the concept of “tall poppy syndrome” in Australia:
- if someone gets too big or successful, people tend to cut them down.
- She says Australian friends often show affection by mocking each other lightly rather than giving direct compliments.
- She also mentions the supportive network of Australian actresses in Hollywood, including a group chat with friends like Phoebe Tonkin.
Casting, accents, and set life
- Samara explains how she worked with a dialect coach to get the Southern accent right for the film.
- She laughs about how odd it is to be paid to wander around practicing accents.
- She also shares some very unglamorous set experiences:
- getting stuck in a car trunk for about 20 minutes,
- filming in motels that were so disgusting they nearly had to shut down production,
- and dealing with the chaos of low-budget indie filmmaking.
- She notes that acting often looks glamorous from the outside, but much of it is waiting, discomfort, and improvising through nonsense.
Other career highlights
- Amanda brings up Samara’s work in:
- Ready or Not
- The Babysitter
- and other horror/comedy projects.
- Samara says she still loves horror, but would also be excited to do:
- sci-fi
- Bond girl-style roles
- and a straight-up rom-com.
Fun pop culture tangents
- The episode begins with Amanda riffing on:
- family boundary drama,
- body dysmorphia,
- Kim Kardashian and Lewis Hamilton,
- and Dua Lipa’s marriage.
- These bits are classic Amanda: chaotic, funny, and very online.
Notable Takeaways
- Samara Weaving is versatile: she’s comfortable in horror, but this film shows she can do romance and vulnerability just as well.
- Motherhood is still fresh and surreal for her, but she’s approaching it with humor and honesty.
- Her career has been built through range: Australian soaps, horror hits, indie films, and now emotionally grounded genre blends.
- She remains self-aware and playful, especially about the absurdity of acting, fame, and the industry’s less glamorous realities.
Standout Moments
- Amanda and Samara bonding over how absurd pregnancy and childbirth are.
- Samara describing how she had contractions during press interviews.
- The placenta-pill conversation.
- Samara explaining why she loves a movie with romance and intimacy.
- The trunk-locking story and the motel set horror story.
- The “scream queen” origin story.
Bottom Line
This episode is a fun, candid, and fast-moving conversation that blends celebrity gossip, motherhood honesty, and career reflections. Samara Weaving comes across as funny, grounded, and game for anything, while also clearly excited about stepping into a more romantic, emotional lane with Carolina Caroline.