“They will just get rid of you”: Samara Weaving says working on the Home and Away set was nothing like Hollywood

Australia fell in love with Samara Weaving when she was a budding actor on Home and Away.

Since leaving the show, she has finally found her footing in Hollywood, and during an interview with The Courier Mail this week, she reflected on the cutthroat nature of the show.

“Home and Away is such a machine, and you’re just pumping out so many scenes,” she told the publication.

Samara, who played Indi Walker from 2009 to 2013, compared how different it was stepping on a Hollywood stet after going through the challenging nature of soaps.

“We would do up to 10 scenes a day if we were in the studio. Working on my first American job, and doing four scenes a day, was wild. I was like, ‘Oh, we can take our time, I guess.’ It was a lovely surprise.”

The 30-year-old also recounted how actors on Home and Away need to adapt fast to avoid the cutting block.

“And, technically, you have to learn fast, otherwise they will just get rid of you.

“You need to learn your lines and know what your mark is and where the cameras are, and you need to find your light – you need to learn that so quickly; otherwise, they will just replace you,” she told the publication.

Last year, the actor talked to Digital Spy about how working outside of Home and Away was initially a shock for her after having “a very naïve perception of how the industry works.”

“I really had to work hard on my acting, and my manager was like, ‘I think you should see a drama coach,” she said.

Since leaving the show, Samara has worked hard to cement herself in Hollywood, and even though success didn’t happen overnight, she is quickly becoming the next IT girl.

She most notably starred alongside Nicole Kidman in Nine Perfect Strangers, 2021, Guns Akimbo, 2019, and The Babysitter, 2020.