It’s hard to believe that the Naomi Scott I’ve just met on Zoom—calm and clever and charmingly rambly from her home in Los Angeles—is the same person conducting a master class in hysteria in Smile 2, currently the number one film in United States. She’s been hearing stuff like that a lot lately. But the British actor and musician, until this point best known for the divisive big-screen remakes of Aladdin and Charlie’s Angels, came into the buzzy horror sequel ready to give it her all.
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From the moment the script from writer-director Parker Finn came her way, Scott felt an intrinsic connection to the role of Skye Riley, a pop star whose struggles with addiction and fame coincide with the spread of the Smile Entity’s deadly curse. And from the moment she began filming, she proved just how far she was willing to go.
The film, of course, demanded that she go very far. Scott screams and cries and dances and sings and, yes, smiles her way through Smile 2’s twisty nightmare with a relentless commitment. Even for longtime fans of her work—Scott came up on the Disney Channel series Life Bites, and more recently shined in a pivotal role in Netflix’s Anatomy of a Scandal—it’d be hard to know she had this kind of visceral performance in her. Over our conversation, Scott freely admits to feeling like a “phony” in the industry, seeking out this kind of intensely challenging work to little avail, until now.
It’s partly why, as exhausting as making the movie was for Scott, you won’t hear her say a negative thing about the experience. “I got to go there, man,” she says. “What else am I doing this for if not that?” Based on the response to the film and her work so far, this won’t be the last time.
Vanity Fair: This is a major, demanding role for you. Did you feel nervous about how the film would perform and be received?
Naomi Scott: The honest answer is no. I did not have any nervousness about it being out in the world. I was just excited. There was a moment when Parker brought me into the edit. He’s an excited creative force, and I think that’s why we both work so well together; he was like, “Come in and watch some scenes.” This was a couple months after we wrapped, and so I did. I only saw a couple scenes and I just was like, “I love this, and that I know I’m going to love this.” Realizing what a blessing that is in a creative endeavor that you’ve put so much of yourself into, that the parts of that that are out of my control actually have resulted in something that I personally am enjoying to the nth degree—it’s such a gift. So there was no nervousness. Even when I saw the cut that Parker showed me, I just loved the movie, man. I was like, “This is so unhinged. It’s so funny.” [Laughs] Parker did that, the crew did that, I did that, period. That lives forever. And when my kids are old enough, I’ll be like, “Look what your mom did.” How cool is that?
It can be tough for some people to get to that kind of place mentally in this industry, which puts so much on comparing and striking while the iron is hot.
But I also don’t think anyone was like, “Oh, Naomi Scott, let’s see what she does!” There wasn’t this pressure. I don’t think anyone was really zoned in on what Naomi Scott’s performance in Smile 2 was going to be like. [Laughs] Do you know what I mean?
Yes. But now they are.
Apparently!
I’m pretty familiar with your work, and based on your filmography, this feels like the most intense role you’ve had the chance to play. Have you ever faced an acting challenge like this?
No—with all its challenges at once, no. First of all, that’s a good question because I hadn’t thought about that until you’ve just asked me. I would actually say that when I look back on my career, the physicality of something that takes a lot from you, the singing, the dancing—there were elements that I guess I have experienced. I’ve had some of those challenges, but just not all together. I’m being asked about “How did you do that?” and not necessarily feeling like I have the best actor-y answer, because I genuinely don’t. I did feel this innate understanding of Skye; I felt really sure about how I would approach that role. I was very sure about my approach. It weirdly felt very natural for me. I didn’t have loads and loads of time to prepare, so I wasn’t overthinking it in that sense either. It was a trust exercise with myself.
Can you say a little bit more about your innate understanding of Skye?
Everyone can understand the feeling of feeling misunderstood. But also just her operating at such a high excellence level in terms of what she does. I love the fact that she just doesn’t really see the people around her. They’re more these obstacles for her to get to where she’s going. We all have a bit of that in us. I may not treat people that way, but we all have this deep ambition and drive.
Some people don’t think it’s me in the car scene with Ray [Nicholson]. They think it’s a different actor. I’m like, I don’t know whether to be insulted or take it as a compliment. [Laughs] And then in the freeze, a lot of people don’t realize that it’s me. Even my friend’s sister was like, I thought they got a double.
And that scene took four days, for you to film?
Yeah, that was four days. That was really tough. I’m like, trust me—I felt all of that. That was also a reshoot, and might I add a very smart and surgical one from Parker. As a side note, there’s nothing we didn’t shoot that’s not in the movie. That’s just testament also to Parker. There was one bit tagged onto the end of the scene that was cut, but other than that—yeah. He really sees the movie. So with that character, we call it Evil Skye, I hadn’t thought about what I was going to do until I literally was there. I kind of just was like, “We’ve got to go full hog with this. It needs to be absurd.” It’s just funny because I was just throwing shit at the wall at that point. Sometimes it is just that. You go in and go for it. That’s what happened.
Did you surprise yourself?
Yes and no. I surprised myself, but put it this way: I read the script and I was like, “Put me in, coach.” This is what I wanted. Give it to me. Give me the challenge. I said to Parker, “I understand what this entails in terms of what it is, but then also, nothing can really prepare you for this particular experience.”
What surprised me was—well, I was nervous: Going into this, am I going to lose myself? I don’t mean in this weird method actor-y way. Am I going to have to completely isolate myself? But that wasn’t the case. I was of course conserving my energy and focusing where I could focus and being completely exhausted here and there. But I didn’t lose myself in any way.
I’ve had moments in my life and career where I’ve felt a bit like a phony in the sense that I didn’t go to drama school. There’s not a particular process that I do. There are versions of this idea of a process that sometimes you hear and you think, “Bloody hell, they really take this thing seriously, don’t they?” I couldn’t take this thing more seriously. I just approach it differently to get the best out myself. I think I’ve gotten to a point as an artist where I’m way more comfortable with that. I don’t feel the need to be like, “Oh, I went and lived in a thing.”
You mentioned exhaustion. So while I hear everything you’re saying, is it also right to say this took a toll?
I generally like to focus on the fact that I got to do this. I got to push myself to those places. A lot of the time there were technical shots plus incredibly intense [emotion]. That was something specific to this that was definitely a challenge but Parker—we’re always having a conversation. He’s like, “Do you have one more on you?” And nine times out of 10 I’m going to be like, “I want to get it. I want to get the perfect take.” I’d say yes and then that would be the take. A lot of the times that happened. He sees the movie in his head, so you can’t have a weak link. He wants everything to be so good—the camera movement, this and that, all of those one percents coming together. And that’s the shit. That’s why we do this.
By the way: yes, I was so exhausted. Like, I’ve never been so exhausted in my life. Yes, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. That’s true, but it’s not a negative. I learned so much about myself. I had incredible support at home. I got to go there, man. What else am I doing this for if not that? I’ve wanted this type of creativity, to make something in this way, for so long. So why would I moan about it now?
Right—this is your first film that’s come out in the U.S. in about four years. So can you just say a little bit more about—
—why haven’t I worked? [Laughs]
Well, where were you when this script came your way? Were you waiting for something like this? Were you saying no to other things?
I’ll be so honest with you. First of all, a couple movies that I did shoot recently, I don’t know if they’re ever going to come out. I could sit here and say, I have just been waiting for this. But that’s not true. I’ve been going up for all sorts of roles and I just haven’t got them. I just didn’t get the role. I will say this, I definitely have shifted in being more specific. I think that’s maybe what you’re getting at, which is true—and which means that I’ve been really going for things that I really cared about and thought were great. Nine times out of 10, they haven’t gone my way. That’s just the name of the game. That’s just the way this industry goes. And that’s okay. So it’s been a combination of things that haven’t always gone my way and having the privilege to say no—which is not to be scoffed at. And I definitely have said no a lot.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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