Of follows the journey of many strangers who are trapped in a mysterious city that is invaded by murderous monsters every night. Of Season 3 saw an evolution in these creatures as they became more manipulative. Throughout the series, more of the town’s residents appeared and many were killed.
Samantha Brown joins Of in season 3 as Acosta, a new police officer who is tough, observant, courageous, strategic, intuitive, ruthless and has strong morals. She asks questions and doesn’t take no for an answer. She has one ultimate goal: to get herself and everyone out of the city. Of Season 3 releases new episodes Sundays at 9pm ET/PT on MGM+.
SRant screen interviewed Samantha Brown about joining the cast of Of and his important role in season 3. She recalls her first day on set and details what she learned working alongside Harold Perrineau. Brown also reveals what she finds so scary about the city’s creatures and what she would do if she were trapped there.
Samantha Brown was hooked from the first episode
“If I don’t understand, I will be devastated. It raised the stakes for me by becoming a big, big fan.”
Screen Rant: Were you a fan before joining the cast?
Samantha Brown: I have a list on my phone of all the shows I’m going to watch next. Everyone in my family was like, you have to watch From, you have to watch From. So I put it at the top of the list. So between my initial audition and the callback, I was like, okay, I need to watch at least one episode just to see what was going on. And when I watched the first episode, I thought, that was a huge mistake, because now I’m so addicted to this show that if I didn’t get it, I’d be mad that I watched it. It was like, if I don’t understand, I’m going to be devastated. So it increased the risk for me of becoming a big fan.
I was telling this to someone recently. You go from sitting on the couch in your pajamas, eating your snacks, watching the show, to two weeks later, you feel transported inside the television. Like these people were in my living room and now I’m with them. It was surreal.
Screen Rant: Do you remember your first day on set?
Samantha Brown: My First Day was the start of the big action sequence in episode four. Where Acosta pulls out his gun and the paramedics’ throats are slit – – that was my first day. It was a night shoot. It was the first time I met the crew. It was about 3 a.m. in the Halifax winter. First time wearing the uniform. I was like, I just don’t want to get fired today. There was so much going on, but it was good to get started because I thought, okay, it’s going to be easy and smooth from here, because the stakes in that scene were so high.
The creatures aren’t just the brainless zombies we thought they were
“These creatures are planning, strategizing, talking to each other, targeting individuals and timing things.”
Screen Rant: What do you think is so scary about the creatures in this town?
Samantha Brown: I think the scariest thing about them this season is the fact that we’re now learning that they’re strategic, right? So it’s like in the first season, I think a lot of the audience thought, okay, these are just these brainless zombies who are slitting the throat of whoever is right in front of them, with no rhyme or reason.
But now we’re starting to see that no, these creatures are planning and strategizing and talking to each other and targeting individuals and timing things. So to me, it made your competitor stronger and more insightful. And that’s scarier than anything to me.
Screen Rant: What was your reaction when you first saw one of the actors with full prosthetics?
Samantha Brown: I didn’t know if I was going to act in front of a green screen. I didn’t know if it was going to be a tennis ball and all CGI. And then when I got there on my first day, you actually saw that there were actors fully dressed with prosthetics down to the level of detail, as if what you see in the show is what we see as the actors filming. The transition from human form to creature form, that transition is CGI, but everything else is real.
You really appreciate that as an actor because there’s very little you have to imagine. When I was being chased, Acosta was being chased by these creatures in the forest, Samantha was being chased. It’s like a reality show to me, but you appreciate that prosthetics team, their boss, his name is Patrick Baxter, and he’s very talented. You really appreciate that as an actor because there are so many different elements you have to think about. I’m like, okay, I don’t need to worry about acting, just reacting.
Samantha Brown says working alongside Harold Perrineau was a “masterclass in acting”
“He’s a team player. He’s always there for every teammate until the end.”
Screen Rant: Is there anything you were most excited to explore this season?
Samantha Brown: I would say working with Harold Perrineau. I didn’t know how my character would fit into the series. I didn’t know which way they would take her. But seeing her relationship start to evolve, whether for better or for worse with Boyd, that’s been really exciting for me because he’s just a legend. I was a huge fan of Lost. So whenever I worked with him one-on-one, it was just a master class in acting.
Screen Rant: What do you think you learned from it?
Samantha Brown: He never does the same thing twice. Every take is different. Plus, for him, you really see, he’s a team player. It’s not just that he’s doing his best in his own coverage. When it’s his coverage, and he’s off camera, he’s giving one hundred percent to everyone else, which is really helpful because sometimes you’ll be acting with someone, and they’re giving their all in your coverage, and so when it’s yours, they’re still there to help you, but you can tell they’ll call in a little while. But never. He is always there for each teammate until the end.
As a fan, Samantha Brown has a lot of questions she wants answers to
“I want to know where the electricity comes from. I want to know if the boy in white is good or bad.”
Screen Rant: As a fan, what story were you most excited to see unfold in front of you?
Samantha Brown: Well, not yet, but I want to know where the electricity comes from. I want to know if the boy in white is good or bad. And I think the pregnancy story was really interesting to watch. Now we have seen the revelation with the ultrasound of what this means. This storyline all season long was the main thread that I really wanted to see how it would end. And you will see this.
Screen Rant: Pegah Ghafoori mentioned that the scene was rewritten.
Samantha Brown: I actually think not only was it rewritten, but they remade it. I think they filmed the entire scene and then went back and filmed it again. Don’t quote me on this, but I think that’s what happened.
Working on the program, everything has a reason. Every prop, every color, everything you see visually in the show has a purpose. They’re never just calling it, they’re rewatching it and if they say, no, we can make this better, they redo it.
Samantha Brown thinks the answer to From’s mysteries lies in the city
“I see myself as having a master notebook. A legend of every person in there.”
Screen Rant: If you were trapped in this city, how would you react?
Samantha Brown: I’m a lot like my character. I’m very type A. I want to be in the mix. I want to figure things out. So I would definitely be consistently investigating what’s going on. I guess I see myself as having a master notebook. A legend of every person that’s there, their birthday, when they got there, their sin number, their horoscope, like everything about them, and just keeping an encyclopedia, basically. I would be the city historian.
Because I think someone was asking me this the other day, if you came out like Tabitha, what would you do? And I thought about it and I thought I’d try to come back right away, because I don’t think anyone in the real world can help the people in the city. I think the answer is in the city. Then I would be the city’s researcher.
Read more about the third season
Unravel the mystery of a nightmarish city that traps all who enter. As the reluctant residents struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy and search for a way out, they must also survive threats from the surrounding forest – including the terrifying creatures that emerge when the sun sets. After Season 2’s epic cliffhanger, escape will become a tantalizing and very real possibility as the true nature of the city comes into focus and the townspeople attack the myriad horrors that surround them.
Check out our previous Of season 3 interviews here: