Samantha Bond Interview: The Stranger In Our Bed

New romantic thriller The Stranger in Our Bed is now available to stream on Showtime. Directed by Giles Alderson and written by Samantha Lee Howe, the film follows a woman who attempts to leave her husband for her lover, only to discover that he has disappeared. Determined to unveil the truth, she seeks out his sister for answers.

The cast includes Emily Berrington, Samantha Bond, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Nina Wadia, Joseph Marcell, and Terri Dwyer. Bond, who plays fan-favorite character Lady Rosamund on Downtown Abbey, now portrays Tom’s (Lloyd-Hughes) mother Isadora in The Stranger in Our Bed.

Screen Rant chats with actress Samantha Bond about working with co-stars Emily Berrington and Ben Lloyd-Hughes, and filming at a manor in England.

Screen Rant: What drew you to The Stranger in Our Bed?

Samantha Bond: The script. It always starts with the script. I was sent the book first, and then Samantha’s adaptation of her own book, and I thought she’d done just a brilliant job. So that’s where it starts, as always. With the words.

Screen Rant: Was there anything in the script that stuck out to you, in particular? These characters have a lot of depth and a lot of mystery surrounding them. Was there anything in there that really caught your attention?

Samantha Bond: I think the thing that thrilled me—it also thrilled me when I watched it—is the fact that every character in it, except possibly one, has a secret. When you first meet Isadora, you think she’s one thing. So there’s a young couple, a married couple, who you find out very, very quickly, it’s a little bit tricky. By the time you meet the mother, you think she’s kind of just a mom. Then you think she is a domineering, controlling mother. And then by the end, when you discover her secrets, she becomes a very different person in the audience’s eyes. And I think that’s true of virtually all of them. That was something that drew me.

Screen Rant: A lot of this film takes place at a mansion. Where was that? Did you film on location?

Samantha Bond: It was a manor house rather than a mansion, and it was just outside Northampton in the Midlands in England. And, yes. Everything you see in the manor house is in the manor house. So the bedrooms are in the manor house. Amazing, because we were shooting in one of the lockdowns—I can’t remember which one. So when you see the incredibly glamorous kitchen and breakfast laid out, and this that and the other, that is the kitchen in the house.

They also use the dining room at some points, but that is the dining room in the house. In the kitchen, at lunchtime, all the props and setting would be removed and then lunch would be laid out. And then the cast and crew would come in and collect their lunch and then wander around because we were all two meters apart at the time. So it then became the serving place. And then that would all have to be put away again so that we could go back to it. It was beautiful.

Screen Rant: I thought that place looked really cool. It looks so nice to explore—especially outside.

Samantha Bond: And they’re all their grounds.

Screen Rant: Oh, wow. That’s awesome. Well, how was working with your co-stars? You share most of your scenes with Emily Berrington and Ben Lloyd-Hughes.

Samantha Bond: It was great. And, you know, they are having this, as they say, tricky married. And in real life they’re a very happily married couple who had—I think when we were filming the baby was about four months old. They were adorable. But obviously, because they were married, their masks came off first, whereas the rest of us weren’t allowed to remove until we were on camera. Because of the year we’d all had leading up to the film…it was just thrilling. It was thrilling.

It was thrilling to be working on something that one so wanted to do. But it was also thrilling to be back with our tribe. You know, I was very lucky. I did a lot of recording. I did a lot of vocal recording in lockdown, and I’ve been sent a home studio and that was great. But, actually, what actors want to do is work with people, not to a microphone. So it was wonderful and such a good company. And when you think of the fact that they had Joseph Marcell, who came to play with us in lockdown, that was amazing.

Screen Rant: So you filmed this during lockdown? Was this in the middle of it?

Samantha Bond: I think it’s the second lockdown. I think it’s 2020. And that becomes comical in itself because you had to do a lateral flow every morning, and they’d line up on a desk a whole lot of pregnancy tests. And then our COVID advisor took your temperature three times a day. And I think we shot for four weeks and we didn’t have one case.

Screen Rant: That’s so awesome. I also wanted to ask if you had a favorite part of the movie in terms of filming. A lot happens in it, but was there a scene or moment that you loved?

Samantha Bond: One of my favorite scenes in it is…there’s a scene with me and Emily having lunch, which is when you begin to see another side of both of them, actually. I think the interesting thing when you’re making a thriller—and lots of it is different from a regular drama because lots of it is much more technical. But that scene is just two people talking. And the only thing that matters is that each of you is playing your truth. And I thought that Emily was an absolute delight. And I think she’s wonderful in it.

Screen Rant: You’ve been a part of several different genres. This is a thriller like you said, but do you have one genre that you prefer doing over others?

Samantha Bond: No, I don’t. And I feel immensely blessed to have had the chance to do so many different things. And that applies to all the different mediums. A lot of my work is in theater. A lot of it is on television. And you get to do all sorts of things. And I love that. This year, I think I’ve done…well, two horror films come out this year. So Stranger in Our Bed and Hounded, which is a real horror film.

Stranger in Our Bed is a thriller. And then I’ve just done a family film for Sky called After Ever After with David Williams, playing Red Riding Hood at the age of 60. And then I’ve just done a couple of episodes in a new Sky comedy called Dreamlands, which will come out presumably next year, and we’re hoping for Season 2 next year. So the mixing around is one of the great joys and something I’ve been incredibly lucky to be able to do.

The Stranger In Our Bed Synopsis

A married woman finds her life in grave danger when her lover mysteriously disappears and a young girl is murdered.

The Stranger in Our Bed is currently available to stream on Showtime.