When “Outer Banks” premiered in spring 2020, Madelyn Cline’s life transformed overnight. Her character, Sarah Cameron — John B’s love interest and “the princess of the Kooks” — has changed almost as much as Cline herself. While she gears up for the release of the teen drama’s third season, out Feb. 23, she’s also starring in another Netflix hit: Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.”
How has Sarah Cameron changed since viewers last saw her?
We’ve seen her truly grow up a lot. She’s gone from a teenager who doesn’t have much of a care in the world or responsibilities to having the weight of so many things on her shoulders. She’s learned that family is not just something that you are born into but something that you can choose. She’s learning to speak up for herself, put her foot down, and learning to discern what is right and wrong versus right or wrong being something that you’re told. This season, we continue to piggyback on that with a few wrenches thrown into the mix. She found this voice, and she’s learning how to make decisions for herself.
What’s your process of tapping into that?
What it comes down to is finding the empathy for me, because sometimes I’ll read things, and me, personally, as Maddie, will be like, “What the fuck?” With any character, I’m approaching them with empathy and figuring out the why. Moral dilemmas are really fun to play because there’s so much there. I just hope that what I’ve portrayed feels truthful and authentic. But truthfully, that ebbing and flowing and growing, especially that we experience as teenagers and young adults, I hope that resonates true to our audience. I think that it’s all very human — finding your chosen family, realizing that mistakes happen and the ins and the outs of relationships and friendships. Life in and of itself is so messy, and it’s very cathartic and beautiful to play.
“Glass Onion” has been so huge. Are you more like that film’s Whiskey or like Sarah?
Listen, Whiskey is an influencer. I have been known to influence or at least attempt to. I wouldn’t say that I’m similar to one or the other. I think there are certain aspects of myself I’ve definitely put into both. I really, really loved playing Whiskey because she was a little bit more outside of my comfort zone. She’s a little wild card; she’s got her own ulterior motive. She’s multifaceted and was really fun to play and explore. I don’t know if I would say more of one or the other. I’ll ask my therapist. She knows me more than I know me!
You’ve talked about being patronized for being “too sexy” or showing your body, and Whiskey and Sarah are both so confident. How do you go about finding that within yourself?
Self-love is a daily journey. Your relationship with your body is so deeply personal, and then in this industry, it gets objectified. That’s a really hard thing to balance in a very weird dichotomy. I think the main thing is truly letting my body be what it is, and not feeling like I need to make it what other people want it to be. So: being honest or being upfront about weight fluctuation! It happens. I think truly that sexy is being confident in your own skin and whatever that means to you. That’s something that I’ve had to preach back at myself as well. Because I think that that’s what shows, especially on-screen.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned since “Outer Banks” changed your life?
Calm down and embrace everything — good and bad, highs and lows. All of it is very informative. The best thing you can do is just get out and go experience things and live. And don’t compare yourself.
