I met with Burr Steers, the director, first and then got the call on my birthday that I’d be doing a chemistry read with Zac which was just like, ‘Oh my God! I was actually in my agent’s office (when they called to say I’d gotten the part), and I’ve got a photo of me because I’m hunched over crying. What I loved about this character was she’s such a strong, independent woman who knows what she wants in life.
You work so hard and you have your ups and downs in this industry where you question, ‘Is this what I’m supposed to be doing? A lot of the time it’s just the pretty girl who serves as the love interest and that’s it.
AC: I've done some of those scenes before so I was never really nervous. At first, I was like "I don't know if I really like this," but when you're sailing on your own it's a really exhilarating feeling. CG: Do you have any fun stories from when the cameras weren't filming? AC: We hung out any moment that we weren't filming - Zac, Auggie [he plays Alistair], Davy [he plays Sully].
We spent so much time together before we started filming - we had rehearsals and sailing training. Both Zac and I had personal trainers because we wanted to look like we could actually sail those boats. It was always a challenge to figure out places to go because Zac can't just go anywhere. Any crazy fan encounters when you were spending all this time with Zac?
He showed me a lot of her work and we watched different movies for different reasons to see this dynamic (in) this love relationship.
I think part of that is to do with the fact that he’s not this guarded guy, ‘I’m God. I didn’t know him before he had all this success but I feel like the person I’m meeting today is the same person as before all the success hit him. It was everything from doing various acting exercises, me and Zac together just to get comfortable and not be scared to take risks in front of each other and falling on our faces. He showed us a lot of old films and different actors and actresses to look at, like Vanessa Redgrave.
He did a good job of putting me at ease because that's kind of a stressful situation! There was a lot of falling over - my legs were covered in bruises!
He's so down-to-earth and humble and genuine and supportive. There are a lot of steamy scenes in this film, so were you nervous for your serious make-out sesh with Zac? He's this gorgeous boy, he's got a great personality, a great sense of humor and then you add that into the mix - it wasn't a hard job! So, did you guys have any embarrassing moments on set? But it was really fun and I really started to get into it.
She began her acting career when she was cast in the musical Dragon Tales during her fourth grade in elementary school.
Three agents contacted her, and she has been acting ...
I was like, ‘Oh-kay.’” Amanda also admitted a little about herself in the video, saying, “I am [a dork].