Hollywood actress Samantha Lockwood has been painting B-town red, recently. Her visit to India and meeting with casting directors have surely made us all wonder if there is a project on the cards soon, and for the same, I got in a conversation with the actress. Let me tell you, I saw Samantha’s film Shoot The Hero just recently on the OTT space and her action stance left me quite impressed. But what also charmed me about the actress was her approach to the world being her stage.
Read excerpts from Samantha’s interview here:
On getting so close to Bollywood…
It feels very exciting. It feels very similar to how things work in Hollywood. It feels like home in some ways because an industry is an industry all over the world. I grew up in this business and I love it. I watch movies from all over the world, so it’s nice to meet like-minded people.
On Bollywood Films and her favorite genre…
I have really liked Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Sultan, and The Kargil Girl. It is important for us to tell stories about women who have led some courageous lives, I appreciate that this film got made and is available on Netflix. I love action-comedy. I like films that have some action and humor along with some light-heartedness.
On performing action stunts on the big screen…
It’s exciting, I like strong characters. I like characters that have courage, action is always fun to watch. It’s not like sitting and watching a dialogue the whole time. I think it’s high time we see more women in Hollywood and Bollywood doing action.
On her Bollywood projects…
I don’t know when I will do a Bollywood project, for me, it’s about connecting with the right project and script. I am not going to try to be a Hindi Indian girl star, I want to play who I am. But I would love to work in this field as a producer, director, actor because it’s a wonderful market. I think it’s really a great example of how our world has become a little bit more global. There are opportunities in this, it’s just about selecting the right one. I don’t want the first project I do to be forced or the wrong thing.
On her offers…
I cannot say they are offers, the conversations are on. We are not at that stage, I have only met everybody. But I am getting very familiarized and I know what to expect as far as opportunities go. It all looks very promising.
On her dream roles…
I don’t know what that would look like, it would probably be something that has action or a cool multi-dimensional character. It doesn’t have to be the biggest role in the project, it should be an interesting role as my first opportunity. Ideally, I am looking to work with really talented people, who know what they want. There is a ton of really good actors in this town and I would be honored to work with any of them.
On the OTT space…
I would have never been able to watch more than a handful of Bollywood films if it wasn’t for Netflix. Now I have easy access to it, 5-6 years ago we didn’t have easy access to films. As a performer you start thinking more globally, I can now get a job all over the place. The meetings I was having prior to Bollywood were in London and as an actor, we can go where we find the best opportunity.
On the pandemic…
On a personal level, Covid has affected our work in Hollywood. The lockdown has slowed us down immensely, it changed the way we have been distributing movies. Because of the pandemic, my film Shoot The Hero has picked up. But now things are picking up in Hollywood as far as the filming goes. It has changed the way films are getting released, now Hollywood is casting more ethnic faces, while Bollywood is seeking actors from Great Britain, London, and Europe to involve them in their stories.
Well, I hope Samantha treats us with a good project soon, and as the actress says, it would be an impactful one. I am looking forward to seeing her on-screen.