Samantha Mumba Bio

Samantha Mumba talks about acting in The Time Machine


The Dublin-born pop star insists that she's no Britney or Mariah. You won't catch her singing in her current film, or the next one. "There is no comparison between music and acting," she says in her lilting accent as her little Pomeranian pooch, Foxy, runs around the sparse hotel room at the posh Beverly Hills Four Seasons.

The beautiful half-Zambian, half-Irish Samantha Mumba has her first starring role -- make that first role ever -- as Mara, an Eloi woman living nearly one million years in the future, in The Time Machine, the remake of the H.G. Wells classic, directed by his great-grandson, Simon Wells.

Samantha's debut single, "Gotta Tell You," topped the charts in her native Ireland, in addition to climbing to #2 in the UK and #4 in the United States. The single is the first from her CD, also titled Gotta Tell You, which also contains the hit singles "Baby Come Over" and "Don't Need You To (Tell Me I'm Pretty)." She also opened for N*SYNC last summer, but I won't hold that against her. The casting agent for The Time Machine saw Samantha's picture in "People" magazine, and got a hold of her manager. The rest is history (or is it? After all, she's 800,000 years in the future).

Foxy notwithstanding, we sit at opposite sides of a small table, and she tells me everything I want to know. (Except next week's Lotto numbers... she didn't know that one.)



Staci Layne Wilson (Fantastica Daily): It seems all the young pop stars are coming out with films these days -- Britney, Mandy, Mariah -- and I think most of them do some singing in the roles, or have a song on the soundtrack. Does that appeal to you?

Samantha Mumba: Playing a singer just wouldn't appeal to me, because that's what I do in real life.

SLW: But if you're a working actor, isn't that 'real life'?

SM: Not really.

SLW: So you're saying that doing The Time Machine didn't seem like real work?

SM: No, no. It was very hard. There were lots of long hours, but it was very rewarding.

(Smart answer, Samantha; don't want them to think you didn't earn the paycheck.)



SLW: When you are speaking the Eloi language, what is that?

SM: It's a real language. The writer actually made it up, and it had English translations.

SLW: (Cluelessly) Was this in the book?

SM: No, John Logan came up with it.

SLW: Was it embarrassing? (I mean, come on... who didn't chuckle at Jodie Foster as Nell, or Milla Jovovich in The 5th Element?)

SM: (Not taking the bait) No, actually it was very difficult and intricate. We had to be very careful not to throw in the odd English word. I found that a lot harder than just learning the lines.



SLW: You have lots of physical scenes -- running, climbing, being pulled down through the earth. What was the worst?

SM: I think being pulled through the sand. We only did a couple of takes, but I had to wear a nose plug, keep my eyes shut... it was pretty gross. But I did love doing the stunts.

SLW: Why do you think, so far into the future, the Elois are so primitive?

SM: I actually felt it was just the opposite. It's hard to imagine 800,000 years into the future. I wouldn't want it to show flying cars and all that. I thought it was beautifully done, and I love the setting.

SLW: I understand The Time Machine was shot in California. Was that your first extended stay in the States?

SM: Yeah, I love L.A. Absolutely love it. It's very different to Dublin. The weather is great, the whole style, and of course the shopping. And my dog is here. (Foxy barks on cue.)



SLW: Even though you don't have any interaction with him, you are in an extended scene with Jeremy Irons. Did you talk with him much? What was he like?

SM: He's lovely. In the scene I had with him I'm just sitting in a cage, so I was really just able to gaze at everything. He's a wonderful actor to watch. I have a lot of respect for him.

SLW: Out of all the actors you worked with, who would you say you learned the most from?

SM: Jeremy Irons, just from observing the way he carries himself and approaches the whole acting process.

SLW: I know this whole acting experience was brand new to you; are you the type of person to ask for advice?

SM: I prefer not to. I was taking everything in, watching how people were handling different things and situations. I was grateful Simon gave me a lot of freedom with the character and let me have a lot of say in how she was portrayed.

SLW: Did you take any acting classes prior to getting started?

SM: No. "Here I am!" I worked with a coach on the script for about a week before we started shooting.

SLW: So did you create a backstory for Mara, or did you just take everything at face value as it was written on the page?

SM: Well, we dissected how she would feel about every little thing. It was challenging to leave my comfort zone, which is singing and performing.

SLW: So, were you aware of camera? Your key light? Your marks?

SM: No, actually it was about ignoring the cameras and the crew, and trying to be completely natural.

SLW: Did you look at dailies?

SM: No, we weren't allowed to. Which I think is good.

SLW: Have you seen the finished product?

SM: Once, but I was just so overwhelmed, I'll have to see it again tonight at the premiere to properly take it all in.

SLW: So, aside from The Time Machine, what's your favorite film on time travel?

SM: Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox. I love that one!

SLW: It's the tagline on your film, so I've got to ask... "Where would you go?"

SM: Back to the 1970s. I love that whole period, way back then.

SLW: (Feeling old) Hey, it wasn't that long ago!

SM: It is for me, it's before I was born and my mum was only a teenager then. I'd like to go back and see her in the flares and everything.

When I talked to Samantha again later that night at the premiere, she embellished her answer to say that if she did indeed go back to the 1970s and became a pop star, she'd like to be Donna Summer and do all the "kitsch." I could definitely see Samantha in that mode, but please: this time around, skip the Disco Duck duet with Rick Dees!