You’ve seen Barbara Weetman in movies like “The Notebook,” “Stuck in Love,” and “Tammy.” But the local actress is now gearing up to take on a more complex leading role.
Weetman is starring in the upcoming film “Girl in a Glass Box,” directed by Blanche Baker and adapted from the novel of the same name by Raf Lindia. The story covers dark themes like psychological abuse, and attempts to explore the line between protection and control. Weetman stars as the overprotective mother of a little girl named Emily.
Filming is expected to begin in the coming months. Ahead of the production, Rough Draft spoke to Weetman about her career and how she is preparing for the role.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Before we get to “Girl in a Glass Box” and that project, I would love to go back a little bit and talk about how you came to this profession. What drew you to acting and how did you end up in Atlanta?
Barbara Weetman: I decided when I was about four that I was going to be performing, regardless of how everyone else around me felt about it. So I pretty much tortured my parents and anybody who was around with the constant singing, dancing, jumping around, you know. I’ve always wanted to be an actor. [I] started doing plays in school, and I’ve just never stopped, really.
I came to Atlanta – I was in New York for almost eight years, and COVID was pretty brutal in New York City. I have family that lives about three hours from here in Alabama, and I own a bar in North Carolina, which is a six hour drive, so Atlanta seemed like a good option to get out of that mess and into a new one.
I’m very interested in the bar. How long have you owned that?
Weetman: 26 years this month, yeah.
What’s it called?
Weetman: The Blue Post. It’s in Wilmington, which used to be, before Atlanta really took off, the third busiest for film and television.
Yeah, I think that’s where “One Tree Hill” was filmed. There was a lot of stuff out there.
Weetman: Yeah. I did all that stuff. My ex-husband and I left L.A. – we were actors there – basically once our son started to kind of toddle around, and we were like, this is not the place for a baby! So Wilmington made sense. And then, Atlanta is now, from what I understand, the fastest growing market for film and TV. For sure in the United States, if not globally. [A 2023 report reports that Georgia has the fastest growing film-industry in the nation].
I was born here, but moving back, it’s so wild how much it has blown up. You came from NYC during COVID, which is sort of a common story for a lot of people. In your experiences, what are the differences between the industry there and here?
Weetman: I mean, New York’s been doing it for a really long time. It’s very theater-centric. The actors in New York often are very theater, very trained, very educated. It’s different there, for sure – just the vibe, I guess. It’s hard to explain. You know, there are big buildings in midtown Manhattan that are just all studios, and it’s audition after audition after audition, and the hallways are lined with kids in leotards, and people mumbling to themselves working on their monologues or whatever they’re doing. It’s just such a presence in New York City.
You’ve talked about being in L.A., being in New York, being here – was there a moment where you were like, oh I’ve made it as an actor? Or has that not happened yet?
Weetman: No. [Laughs] Hell no! Most of the moments have been more like, I can’t do this anymore!
You’ve persisted, though.
Weetman: Well, every time I’ve tried to give up, I just can’t. It’s kind of funny, usually when I decide I’ve had it, I can’t take this anymore, I’ll book something great.
That’s how that works. How did this particular project come across your plate?
Weetman: This is so weird. I met Raf [Lindia], the writer, in New York – I’m not even sure how many years ago. It was kind of a random meeting. We met one time. I think we were in Midtown, bumped into each other and had a cup of coffee or something, and just chatted. He was super nice. Like New York, you come across people and you go about your business and you never see them again. We sort of kept in touch randomly, via like – Oh, I liked your post on Instagram. Very innocuous stuff.
Then, I guess maybe last year, he reached out to me and said, hey – I’ve written this book. I want to make it into a movie, and I see you as this character. I was like, well, cool. [laughs] Thanks. I read it, and I was like oh, well it would really be exciting if this did become a movie. This would be a really exciting role to play. He was always really adamant that I’m that role for him. Which is great, and maybe a little weird, because you know, she’s – I don’t want to give away the book or the film, but you know. She’s not a princess!
Has that sort of thing ever happened to you before? Someone telling you so adamantly that they see you in a certain role?
Weetman: Sometimes, but honestly, probably him more than anyone. The other thing is, people always have a project. People are always like, Oh, I’m gonna make this movie. I want to make this thing. But he is doing it. He’s really doing it, and it’s really a hard thing to do. He’s so determined, he works so hard – it’s really amazing what he has pulled together.
What drew you to the project?
Weetman: She’s so complex. She’s such a complicated person. [I was drawn to] trying to figure out who she is and why she is, why she is the way she is, what formed her into that kind of a human being. I like playing complicated, messy women that are … carrying a lot of damage, or are just complicated people.
Can you talk about the role a little bit, without giving too much away?
Weetman: She’s the mother of the little girl. She’s raising this child as a single mother, and she’s very on top of this kid – all over her. Very controlling, very clingy to her daughter. Overbearing.
Filming is supposed to start in the next couple of months. What have you been doing to prepare?
Weetman: You know, doing some reading, trying to discover her psychology. It’s kind of a way to hook into the role. There’s a lot of different ways to sort of begin that first little puzzle piece. Sometimes it’s as innocuous as a pair of shoes. What you wear – you know this. People don’t think about it all that often, but you put on a pair of shoes, you’re going to walk differently, stand differently. It gives you a different feeling in your body. Or a piece of clothing – how do you feel in something soft and unstructured? How do you carry yourself, how do you move? It’s completely different from how you move in a suit-type thing. Things like that – small things that start to put together the little puzzle pieces until you’ve got the person.
It’s interesting to think about the process of becoming someone physically, and how that can inform how you act or behave.
Weetman: There’s a lot of ways to go. Some people start from the inside out, and some people start from the outside in. For me, it can be either way, really. I’m never locked into, this is the way I work, and I have to do it this way every time.
I know it’s early days, but has anything come across in prepping for this that feels particularly challenging about this character, or is something that you can see becoming particularly challenging?
Weetman: You know, as an actor and as a mother, and I’m playing a mother – outside of that character, I’m working with a really great little girl for a lot of this. Some of it is emotional stuff. She’s a real pro, she’s very talented and good at her job. But she’s still a kid, and I want to make sure, as a colleague of hers, that she feels supported and safe, and that she can stretch and play and be okay. Whatever emotional stuff that may happen for her, once that’s done, it’s done. She’s good, and she can go about being the bright little girl that she is.
