The "Avenger" star Cobie Smulders is accustomed to working with a team, and it is a big transition for her, that she is singled out as she leads the pregnancy drama "Unexpected." The "How I Met Your Mother" actress panicked earlier this year when the low-key indie film premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
According to Smulder, she was surprised to see herself taking much of the screen time. "I was like, 'Oh, I'm in like every scene,'" the Vancouver-bred actress said in a recent phone interview from New York, according to The Chronicle Herald.
She also admitted that with too much exposure in the said movie, she will blame herself if it flunks, the star said, ''Which is just a lot of pressure. (It's) like, 'Oh my gosh, if this movie sucks, then it's because of me. I mean, it's because of me I really let everyone down.' So that was kind of scary."
"Unexpected" revolves on the stories of two very different women, who were both expectant moms. Smulders plays Samantha, a practicing teacher who is struggling with the idea of giving up her profession to be a full-time mom. She finds herself getting close to her student Jasmine, played by Gail Bean, as both face the predicament of unplanned pregnancy.
Samantha felt that it was her mission to encourage Jasmine to get into college, and, as the teacher meddle with her student, she later realized that she has the same struggles in her life.
As for her role, Smulders admitted that the character was close to her, being a working mom herself. She said that motherhood does not stop her from pursuing her career goal. However, compared to the character she played, she admitted that she is lucky with her partner and for her job that does not require her to work 9-5 hours every day.
She shared that she was pregnant while filming the said movie. In fact, there were scenes that feature her own bulging belly, but most of the time, they need to pad her because her belly is small.
The writer and director of "Unexpected," Kris Swanberg admits that she met with the agencies, and she received a list of people whom they thought were right for the said movie. As for Smulders taking the lead, she said, "Cobie was very personal with me about her own feelings about being a working mom. That's how we connected," according to RollingStone.
Smulders is married to "Saturday Night Live" star Taran Killam. She was pregnant during the two-month filming of the said movie and gave birth to her second child just weeks earlier before the Sundance premiere.
"Unexpected" will be released in Calgary, Toronto and Victoria on Friday before it hits other cities. It will also be available on iTunes, Google Play and VOD on the same day.
