In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast features in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy actors and creators. Join host and senior editor Vinnie Mancuso for this guide to living the creative life from those who are doing it every day.
Since the genre’s earliest days, horror has been the perfect playground for actors to show off their chops. For proof, look no further than Parker Finn’s “Smile 2,” in which Naomi Scott delivers one of 2024’s most full-throttle, committed performances. Scott plays Skye Riley, a Lady Gaga–esque pop superstar whose life unravels after coming into contact with the parasitic demonic entity from 2022’s “Smile.”
Scott joins In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast to dig into the rigors of the role—from myths surrounding what it’s like to work on a horror set to emotional post-“cut” moments. The actor also looks back at her earliest roles and reveals how she got over bouts of imposter syndrome.
Listen and subscribe to In the Envelope to hear our full conversation with Scott:
From a Dutch insurance commercial to a Disney Channel original film, Scott’s early roles were primarily learning experiences.
“A lot of those [early projects] were more to do with the experience of it and just getting used to being on camera…. I remember my first movie was a Disney Channel movie called ‘Lemonade Mouth,’ and I didn’t know what a mark was. This director, Patricia [Riggen]—we laugh about it now—was like, ‘You did not know what the hell you were doing.’ I was so green. [The first day,] she’s like, ‘She can’t fucking stand on the mark. Who did we cast? Who is this girl from London?’ Then I kind of just learned on the job. I figured it out pretty quickly; I learned quite fast. But a lot of it was just observing—observing other people, other actors, older actors. I always say that to younger actors: Just watch. If you want to be in movies or TV or theater, just try and be close to it.”
Naomi Scott in “Smile 2” Courtesy Paramount Pictures
At first, she wrestled with the “correct” way to be an actor.
“There was a particular job where I felt like it was such a serious thing. I was so nervous, and it was such a serious subject matter that I almost kind of isolated myself. I was like: Oh, I need to be in this headspace over here. And, well and truly, I probably didn’t need to. And actually, I was like: Oh, wait, now I feel weirder—and, therefore, it’s making me in my head even more.
I think what I was doing was trying to do something that I thought was ‘the thing.’ Because, you know, you hear other actors talk about this and they talk about that, and you think: Oh, that’s what it means to be a real [actor]. Nah, that’s bullshit, I promise you.
Don’t get me wrong—some of my closest friends who are amazing actors… I wouldn’t say they’re Method, but they really remain in a particular headspace and are very intense when they’re filming. But they’re always respectful and never encroaching on anyone else…. So long as you are respectful of everyone’s job, it doesn’t matter. Do what you need to do.
Scott relished the physical challenges and complex choreography of “Smile 2.”
“One of my favorite moments of the whole shoot was the scene in the clinic, which is a one-take [shot].... I pull out my IV, I run out of bed, and I go to the door. And what actually happens in that moment is there’s a flap at the door that opens, and they quickly sprayed me with blood. Someone very quickly rubs my hands [with blood] and hands me the shard. That’s happening beneath [the camera]. Then I lift the shard up, the camera pulls back, and they quickly shut the little flap. And then I do the whole thing: I’m slapping myself in the face. Oh, my gosh—that felt so… I mean, afterwards my body had a moment, naturally…. You work yourself up, and especially as traumatic as the moment was, my body just didn’t know the difference. I had a whole, like, crying thing—which, you know, that’s OK. That’s natural. That’s just part of it. I was like: Oh, why does my cheek hurt? Oh, yeah, I slapped myself three times.”
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.