The film stars Samara Weaving (‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’), Kyle Gallner (‘Smile’), Kyra Sedgwick (‘The Closer’), and Jon Gries (‘The White Lotus’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Samara Weaving, Kyle Gallner, Kyra Sedgwick, and director Adam Rehmeier about their work on ‘Carolina Caroline’, their first reactions to the screenplay, their characters’ relationships, and their experience working together to make the movie.

Related Article: Samara Weaving and More Talk Sequel ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’

Samara Weaving in ‘Carolina Caroline’. Photo: Magnolia Pictures.

Moviefone: To begin with, Samara, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and what excited you about exploring this character on screen?

Samara Weaving: It was sent in an email. I don’t want to throw my agents under the bus. They’re really very good at their jobs, but it was an email of like, “If you want to read these over the holidays, you can.” Me and my sister were sitting around on Christmas day going, “Should we check out this movie ‘Dinner in America’ and maybe I’ll read this script?” I was furious that I hadn’t been called immediately about this. It was such a good script. I gobbled it up. I inhaled it. I loved ‘Dinner in America’ so much. I was like a die-hard fan straight away. When it all came together with Adam and then the fact that Kyle came on, it was a little too perfect. The fact that it’s a very good movie that I really love makes it all suspiciously good. I want it to be too good to be true. I keep looking over my shoulder going, “Is this a dream?” I really like it.

Kyle Gallner in ‘Carolina Caroline’. Photo: Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Kyle, how would you describe the relationship between these two characters in your own words and what was it like creating that relationship onscreen with Samara?

Kyle Gallner: I mean, it’s a little destructive, but also, I think it’s two people who are very in love with each other that are willing to do anything for each other and they keep pushing things further and further, but at the same time they hold strong, and they stick with each other to the end. Building that relationship with Sam and you also build it with Adam who’s the director. I’ve known Adam for a long time, so I trust him with my life, and he gave us a lot of room to play and create these characters and really make them our own. Me and Sam would just talk about stuff, and we came up with ideas as scene partners too. Just having somebody who was fearless that I could try anything or throw anything at her, and she would bounce it right back. We were able to have a lot of fun, and with a movie like this, it should be fun. The script is fun, the story’s fun until it’s not, but Adam makes an enjoyable set that we were able to just dig in and really play.

(L to R) Kyle Gallner and Samara Weaving in ‘Carolina Caroline’. Photo: Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Kyle, you worked with Adam Rehmeier before on ‘Dinner in America’, what was it like working with him again and what do you love about him as a filmmaker?

KG: I think Adam’s a great writer. Adam knows everything, right? He knows every aspect. He edits, he writes, he directs. So, he can just come from a place where he understands what everything’s going to look like. There are times where he’ll come to me and be like, “Do this. I want you to turn your head and look this way specifically.” I’m like, “You sure?” He goes, “Just trust me.” It’s in the edit that he’s like, “I just wanted that one spot.” Or he’ll have moments. There’s a scene with me and Sam that’s intense and we had talked about what we were going to do all day and we went up to Adam to talk about it and he said, “I don’t even want to hear about it. Just go do it.” He’s like, “We’ll follow you with the camera.” He just trusts you. So having a guy like that who knows when to come in and when to leave you alone, he’s just great and he speaks a language that’s easy to understand when he comes and gives you notes, and he’s built a really great team. He works with a lot of the same people so the whole team is really dialed in. It’s a very nice way to make a movie.

(L to R) ‘Carolina Caroline’ director Adam Carter Rehmeier and Kyra Sedgwick.

MF: Adam, when you read this screenplay for the first time, were you already visualizing how you would direct the movie?

Adam Rehmeier: Yes. So, my first thought on this screenplay was that I really love the first act and I love the scene that Kyra’s in, but I want to massage some of the other parts of it with the writer, Tom (Dean). So, in fact, of all the things in the script that we touched, the only untouched part was Kyra’s scene. We didn’t do any work on it. I thought it was just perfect. I always looked at that as the centerpiece of the movie, like, “Hey, we’re going to this point in the movie where we’re going to meet Mom finally and it better be good.” On the page it always lived up to it. I absolutely loved that scene. We just massaged some of the beginning. Believe it or not, it was less of a love story. How about that? So, I helped shape it into more of a love story with Tom versus a crime thriller.

(L to R) Kyra Sedgwick in ‘Carolina Caroline’. Photo: Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Kyra, when you read the screenplay for the first time, did you instantly recognize that this would be a great role for you to play?

Kyra Sedgwick: Oh my God, I read the script, and I was like, “Wow, I can’t believe they’re asking me to do this.” I had seen Adam’s movie ‘Dinner in America’ and loved it. I saw it twice and I just thought it was incredible. So, I was already super intrigued. Then it was just a great part. I mean, it was a real stretch for me. Not a lot of people know that I can do something like that, and I just felt so grateful to be asked. It was a great scene. It was like a beautifully written one act play placed in the middle of a movie. I thought, “Oh, I’m sure it’ll get cut, but I’ll do it anyway.” But Adam was like, “This is the most important scene in the movie.” So, it was amazing.

(L to R) Kyra Sedgwick and Samara Weaving at the ‘Carolina Caroline’ Los Angeles Premiere on Thursday, May 28, 2026 at Vidiots Eagle Theater in Los Angeles. Photo credit: Gregg DeGuire / JanuaryImages.

MF: Kyra, can you talk about working with Samara Weaving and creating a backstory for your character?

KS: I always do, but if you’re coming into the middle of a moving train, you better be ready. This was such a great part, and it also was rife with juicy bits of research already baked in. So, you must build a little bit more, but there was so much already there. She couldn’t stand that small town. I don’t think she really wanted to get married in the first place. I think she got pregnant. I mean, it was so easy to slot in those moments and then you just do some real sense memory work around that stuff. It was incredible. I had talked to Adam, and he had such respect for the process, and I knew that it was going to be a safe, well-run situation because I could just tell from his vibe. Then Samara’s amazing. I mean, she is just open. She’s an open organism that just is taking in and it was just so fun. She’s buying my character drinks, and she loves her. Then she’s like, wait a minute, am I on a radio show? Then she’s like, “I’m going to kill you.” That was just a fun thing to play and to see her break apart. It was sad but great.

(L to R) Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner in ‘Carolina Caroline’. Photo: Magnolia Pictures.

MF: Finally, Adam, correct me if I’m wrong, but I would imagine the chemistry between Samara and Kyle is pivotal to the film working emotionally. Did you do a screentest before shooting and how did you know it was going to work?

ACR: We didn’t do a chemistry test, but Samara had seen ‘Dinner in America’ in Sydney with her sister. She flipped out for Kyle, and she was pushy. I had Kyra being very pushy with Kyle too. In full transparency, we had a different cast at one point and then things fell apart as they often do. So, it was time to figure out who was going to play Oliver. I would love to say that it was squeaky clean and easy, but it wasn’t. I was really fighting for Kyle, and so was Kyra and so was Samara. They all wanted to work with Kyle. Sosie Bacon (Kyra’s daughter) had done ‘Smile’ with Kyle and so there was a lot of people in Kyle’s corner. But I had done ‘Dinner in America’ with him. I absolutely adore Kyle. In my mind, there’s nothing that he can’t handle or do. So, I was the biggest fanboy pushing for it to be Kyle.

‘Carolina Caroline’ opens in theaters on June 5th.

What is the plot of ‘Carolina Caroline’?

A young woman (Samara Weaving) skips her small town, in search of her estranged mother (Kyra Sedgwick), alongside a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner) on the run from the law. The duo leaves a wave of crime and passion behind them as they hustle their way through the Southeast.

Who is in the cast of ‘Carolina Caroline’?

• Samara Weaving as Caroline
• Kyle Gallner as Oliver
• Jon Gries as Hank
• Kyra Sedgwick as Deborah

Samara Weaving at the ‘Carolina Caroline’ Los Angeles Premiere on Thursday, May 28, 2026 at Vidiots Eagle Theater in Los Angeles. Photo credit: Gregg DeGuire / JanuaryImages.

List of Samara Weaving Movies and TV Shows:

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