Brittany Snow Judges Her Characters, from 'The Hunting Wives' to 'Pitch Perfect'

SELF Magazine

From 'Pitch Perfect' to 'The Hunting Wives,' how does Brittany Snow really feel about the characters she has played throughout her career? Was Sophie O'Neil a total red flag? Was Chloe Beale a green flag? Take a look!  Director: Natalie Campbell Director of Photography: Grant Bell Editor: Louis Lalire Talent: Brittany Snow Producer: Noël Jean; Sydney Malone Line Producer: Jamie Rasmussen Production Manager: Melissa Heber Production Coordinator: Jeanne Tirro Talent Booker: Tracy Shaffer Camera Operator: Brooke Mueller Sound Mixer: Gloria Marie Production Assistant: Hollie Ortiz Post Production Supervisor: Jess Dunn Supervising Editor: Rob Lombardi Additional Editor: Grant Sponable Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds Arts &amp; Graphics Lead: Léa Kichler Associate Director of Programming and Development: Logan Tsugita

Transcript

00:00The character that stands out to me as a walking red flag is definitely Sophie from The Hunting

00:04Wives. That child was very much always in the bedroom while she was out drinking and driving.

00:08Drinking and driving? Like, come on, girl. What's happening? I'm Brittany Snow,

00:12and welcome to my safe space to judge my past characters and their questionable decisions.

00:17I'm excited to see some of my past roles. I don't really go back in time that often. I feel

00:31nostalgic, nervous, and I know that they've made a lot of really bad decisions, so I can't wait to

00:37dissect that. This is Hairspray from 2007, and I play Amber Von Tessel. Amber is a red flag. She's a

00:45brat. She's spoiled. She thinks the world revolves around her, and she was delicious to play.

00:51Oh, and it's totally not true about her and the entire football team. I mean, please,

00:55anybody can get grass stains all over their back. Amber, stop it. I have not seen that in so long.

01:02Amber needs to hear that she is not the star of the whole world and that she's not the best dancer

01:09on the Corny Collins show. She is not as pretty as she thinks she is, and her mom might be

01:15a psychopath. Amber's fatal flaw is that she's jealous, and she's scared, and she's very insecure,

01:21and I think she knows that she's not the best dancer anymore, and so she's trying to put other

01:25people down so she can build herself up. Classic villain. Oh my god, I can still remember those

01:31dance moves. That's how much it's drilled into our head. I think Velma is the real villain here,

01:36if I do have to say so myself, and I do think that if her mom just backed off of her, she would be a

01:41different type of girl. This is season one of The Hunting Wives, and I play Sophie O'Neill.

01:46Sophie is a red flag. I hope that we love to hate her or love to love her, even though she's a red

01:52flag. You could pick any scene, and it'll be a glaringly orange-red flag. Jamie had a thing for

01:59Abby, but... What? What the fuck does that mean? Wait, do you think that Jamie has something to do with this?

02:05What I worked on with Rebecca to sort of create her character is that she's always been a little bit

02:11of a wild child, but she keeps herself in a box really tightly. Between the Xanax and the tequila

02:18and the beer, there's not a lot left, and... It's okay. Everything's going to be okay.

02:26She's actually afraid of herself. She's not necessarily even an alcoholic. She's afraid of

02:29what she does when she drinks, and she's afraid what happens to her when she makes decisions

02:33that aren't necessarily safe. The Margo meeting is really just opening up that box that she's

02:38tried to keep herself in. Sophie's Boston therapist probably has dropped her by now.

02:43Oh, I just never remembered that. There's a scene that's cut, and I'm trying to tell them

02:49that I'm drinking again, and I'm doing bad things. I guess Rebecca just wanted me to be

02:55a loose cannon at that point, because I did think when we were filming, at least she's telling

02:59her therapist. But now she's not. It's gone.

03:01Right now, I want you to do donuts in the parking lot.

03:06No.

03:07Come on. You know you want it.

03:09I don't even know how to drive a stick shift.

03:11I'll teach you. It's easy. Come on.

03:14I think it was only a matter of time before Sophie reverted back to her true self. I feel

03:19like Graham was keeping her in that place on purpose, and she was dying to break out.

03:26You just need a little help.

03:27I think that's why it's sort of funny to people that it doesn't take her much convincing.

03:31You ask Sophie two times to do something, and she's going to do it. She wants to do it

03:34anyway. And I think that driving scene really shows that she just needs a scapegoat.

03:40There is a point at the very beginning of the show that she, I think, is trying to go back

03:44to center a little bit, and go back to her husband, and go back to her son. But she's

03:49under Margot's spell, and I do think that she falls in love with her. So she's beckoned to

03:55a darker side of something that's already in her.

03:57She wanted me to come let you know that everything's going to be okay, right? It's all good.

04:01You don't need to freak. All right?

04:05It's very sad when she hits him, because she doesn't really want to. She thinks that he's

04:08pulling a gun out. People miss that she is backing up. She's trying to get away.

04:13But when a guy comes running at you with what you think is a gun, what would you do?

04:20I wish she wouldn't have killed him, but then, you know, it doesn't set up for anything fun

04:24season two. So I'm sort of glad that she, I mean, I don't condone murder, but in a show

04:29I do, because now we have so many things to explore next season. I always try to play all

04:35of my characters like they are coming from, in their mind, the best intentions, because they

04:41have to convince themselves to do these things. And so I would hope that I play Sophie like

04:46that, that she does have redeemable qualities. I don't think a lot of people think that she

04:50is in season one, but I do think in season two, when she starts to make decisions to keep

04:54the safety of her son, I hope, I think it'll feel a lot more redeemable.

04:59This is Pitch Perfect, and I play Chloe Beale. Chloe is a green flag, like a light green,

05:06a pastel green. I would describe Chloe in a positive light as effervescent and someone

05:14who is optimistic, and then negatively, someone who has absolutely no personal boundaries and

05:20cannot read a room to save her life.

05:23You're so young.

05:24Chloe definitely lacks boundaries. This is a part of the description of not being able

05:36to read a room. She just doesn't find anything wrong with interacting with someone in a shower,

05:42especially someone she does not know. That was sort of like the description that I made

05:46for Chloe in my mind, is someone who just really saw the best in people no matter what,

05:51and it turned into something else, but it really came from a place of loving her body

05:57and everyone else's. She definitely had a priority. Her priority was getting the Bard

06:01and Bellas to the World, why did I want to say World Series? It was definitely not baseball.

06:06Gosh, I haven't even seen the movie in so long. I forgot the Akra Championships.

06:11What are we doing here? We're bonding. You seem so tense. Do you need a background?

06:15No, I haven't seen Mrs. Phyllis, but I feel like this retreat is really going to let us

06:21discover everything about each other. Is that right? You know, one of my biggest regrets

06:26is that I didn't do enough experimenting in college. You're so weird.

06:30I think she's just like a free spirit. Everything could be sort of seen as like posed to Becca,

06:36but I also think she's just saying stuff that's popping in her mind, and she's next to all

06:41these girls, and she's like, man, I really should have experimented more.

06:45I think it's time that we go on with the next chapter of our lives. It's time for us to move

06:51on. You know? I mean, we're always going to be there for each other.

06:56Wow.

06:57I am proud of Chloe by the end of the movie. I think she sort of understands that she has

07:01to leave the idea of the Bard and Bellas behind, and I think she sort of holds on to the camaraderie

07:07of the group as like an identity, and she's scared to be her own person without this group

07:12mentality that wins, and she feels like that's herself. By the end, I think she realizes that

07:19she can be her own person, and so that is something that I feel like a lot of people

07:23in their 20s go through.

07:24My advice would to take just like a little break from guys, you know? Maybe just like go

07:31do some experimenting. The guys never really work out for her, and I hope that she still

07:36has her very strange, quirky, optimistic attitude. This is John Tucker Must Die from 2006, and

07:43I play Kate Spencer. Kate is a beige flag. She doesn't really have a good, strong identity

07:50yet, especially in the beginning of this movie. I think she's sort of coerced into all these

07:55ideas because she wants to fit in. Throughout the movie, she gets a little bit more of her

07:59footing, but I wouldn't necessarily feel like she's a green flag right away because she's

08:03not holding down any morals or ideas.

08:06It seems to me that if a guy treats you like that...

08:08You'd break up with him, blah, blah, blah, blah.

08:10But John would have another girlfriend in a second.

08:12No, I didn't say break up. I could even.

08:15This is so serious. This was the most serious movie that I could ever imagine.

08:20I definitely think Kate's a girl's girl. I think so much so that she doesn't really have

08:24that many friends. She's sort of moved around a lot, I remember, and so her mom is her best

08:29friend, and she's desperately wanting connection and wanting to be put in a situation where

08:34she feels united, and I think that's why she goes along with this plan. She wants justice.

08:40Try this. It's really good. Chocolate on chocolate.

08:43Oh, yeah. Chocolate is the John Tucker of all snack food.

08:48We are actually eating all of this chocolate when we were doing this scene, and it was so much.

08:54We were having a full slumber party situation where we didn't leave the set. I don't know why we thought that was a good idea.

08:58We thought that was a good idea. I'm sure a therapist would have a field day with this next sentence,

09:03but I feel like I'm watching a person that I know, but I'm not watching me.

09:06I'm so little, and my face is like... I just want to give her a hug.

09:12I think Kate's unfortunately really insecure, and I think she's really shy, and I think that she doesn't think that she can pull this off.

09:19I mean, a lot of that was actually improv, because I do feel like Kate and I were one at that moment.

09:26And I feel like she just doesn't want to lose these friends, and so she's desperate enough to do anything, which is not a green flag.

09:35If she had just a little bit more confidence in herself, she would be able to stand up for herself a little bit more.

09:40Right after this movie, my boyfriend at the time, he was... we were on a break, so I won't say he was cheating on me.

09:47We were on like a Ross Rachel break, but this girl that he was cheating on me with, and I ended up getting each other's numbers.

09:54And we showed up at his door after John Tucker Must Die because I have no other good ideas, and he looked at us like, now what?

10:01And I hadn't thought about what we were going to say or what we were going to do afterwards, and so it didn't feel as good as the movie.

10:07And then we left, and we were like, that was weird, right? Like, we're never going to talk again, so why did we do that?

10:13So I have schemed that one time, and I don't recommend it. It's really weird.

10:18This is The Beast in Me from 2025, and I play Nina Jarvis.

10:22Nina is definitely the most complicated flag in this, and I can't say exactly why, because people haven't seen the show yet.

10:29But she's, she's like a multicolored flag, because I think she does everything with the right intentions, but a lot of people would argue that it's not for the good, the best intentions.

10:41I know what I played it as, and I know what her intentions were, but people can decide for themselves.

10:46You strike me as someone who's very ethical, but, I mean, I'm not naive. I know the book that people want to read. I just hope you won't be disappointed.

10:58By what?

11:00The truth. I'm welcoming the onslaught of people that are going to judge this character. I can't wait.

11:06I feel like all the characters that I've played really set up this character well, because at face value she seems just like the cute wife, and maybe she is, maybe she's not.

11:18I think people are going to be genuinely surprised by Nina in all the best ways. You do find out later in the story that she is not rich, and she doesn't come from this world.

11:28And I think that's a really important note that infuses her decisions.

11:32This is Someone Great from 2019, and I play Blaire Helms.

11:37Blaire is a beige, slightly with like a green hue to it flag, somewhere in the middle.

11:44Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!

11:46Mwah! Mwah!

11:48Oh, ho, ho. That's good.

11:50Well, I think that she's sort of a red flag, the fact that she's cheating on her boyfriend. So we all are aware of that.

11:56I mean, if you really want me to stop, I'll stop.

12:00Don't stop.

12:01But I do think that once you see Alex Moffat's character, you kind of understand that their relationship is a little bit loveless.

12:07Many women in their 20s, they feel like they need to get married by a certain time and have kids.

12:12And, you know, they go for the guy that is, on paper, the good idea.

12:17And I think that's what she feels like she needs to uphold.

12:20And so, she finally stands up for what she wants.

12:23I do think that Blaire is a very good friend.

12:26Although, when we were filming, I was very concerned that Blaire was sleeping with Jenny's college crush.

12:34I kept asking all the girls, like, do you think that she's a good friend if she does this?

12:37Like, are you sure it's not going to be weird?

12:39And everyone was like, no, it's college, who cares?

12:41And so, I do think when she got her friend's blessing, I do think that she's a good friend,

12:46because she wouldn't do that behind her friend's back, necessarily.

12:50This is Murdoch, Death in the Family, from 2025.

12:53And I play Mandy Matney.

12:55Mandy is a green flag.

12:57She really is.

12:58She has the best of intentions.

13:01She stands up for what's right.

13:02She does everything the right way and not necessarily the easy way.

13:07I think that she's a woman that we can all look up to.

13:11Someone who really spearheads justice in this story.

13:14Paul's dad, Alex, he's got a lot going on.

13:18Another printout.

13:19Take it out of my paycheck.

13:20Why does a lawyer have eight LLCs and counting?

13:23One called Carolina Jelly Balls.

13:27I mean, one of the most invaluable assets of playing this character was that Mandy was there on set,

13:36and Mandy and I became friends, which, although intimidating, was also really beneficial,

13:41because I could ask her questions and get an essence of who she was without doing an imitation.

13:46Her morals are so intact all the time.

13:49She really stands up and is so steadfast in what she believes.

13:52She goes up against a lot of adversity.

13:55Did the Murdochs tell you not to talk to me?

13:58And she always tries to do what's right, which most of the time is not something that works out in her favor,

14:06because she's a woman in a really tough field.

14:08This is X from 2022, and I play Bobby Lynn Parker.

14:12Bobby Lynn is a green flag.

14:14I think she is a green flag.

14:16I loved playing a character that led with honesty and confidence.

14:21I think a lot of people would think her line of work is not a green flag,

14:25but I think she does it in the most intelligent entrepreneurial way.

14:29She wasn't afraid to be proud of that.

14:32Everybody likes sex.

14:34It's a guess.

14:35We're just not afraid to admit it.

14:37Queer, straight, black, white.

14:40It's all disco.

14:42I miss that southern accent.

14:44Every time we were doing Hunting Wives, I was like,

14:46oh, I miss having a southern accent.

14:48I think she's right.

14:49I give her props for leading with what she loves.

14:54And I do feel like she's maybe one of the only characters in this that went into it with the right intentions.

14:59This is The Pacifier from 2005, and I play Zoe Plummer.

15:04You know, at first thought, I thought she was a green flag because I was a child when I did this movie.

15:10And then I thought about it and actually she's not a green flag.

15:12She is like a soft pink color flag.

15:15She has a lot to learn.

15:16She's a kid, but she's sort of a mean girl.

15:18She's going through a lot.

15:20It's okay to talk about your dad, Zoe.

15:22Oh, I'm so small.

15:24I don't know. I just want to be strong for Lulu and Tyler and Peter and Seth and my mom.

15:32And Diesel.

15:34He's such a gentle giant.

15:36He's so sweet.

15:37That is really sad.

15:38I was such a baby.

15:40She finally does let him in.

15:42And I think that it is a green flag that she can get in touch with her emotions

15:45and actually finally be honest about the fact that she's been putting up a wall

15:49because she's scared and trying so hard to be strong.

15:52And I think a lot of kids can probably relate to that.

15:54When they lose a parent, they feel like if there's any cracks in their armor,

15:58then they're letting their family down.

15:59And so I'm proud of her for letting big old Shane Vin Diesel in.

16:10Sophie.

16:12Mandy Matney is the most healed.

16:16I feel like all of my characters are redeemable.

16:18I can't even.

16:19Yeah.

16:20None of them are like serial killers.

16:22Not yet.

16:23Can't wait.

16:24One day I get to play a serial killer.

16:25I think all of them are good people, but I think Chloe's a really good person.

16:29I mean, I guess Amber is sort of a bad person until the end.

16:32We don't do racism.

16:34Amber.

16:35Bad.

16:36Bad person.

16:38I would say Chloe and Kate.

16:43Mandy.

16:44Or Nina, actually.

16:45Nina.

16:47Zoe.

16:48Because I was a kid.

16:50Sophie.

16:51Yeah.

16:52She really pissed me off.

16:53Every day I would get the scripts and I was like, are you kidding me?

16:56How am I supposed to make this work?

16:57And she's just leaving her son.

16:59Just going out drinking.

17:03Sophie.

17:04And also probably Bobby Lynn.

17:06I think that she chose that line of work for various reasons that we don't talk about,

17:10but are there.

17:11I think Chloe.

17:13Definitely.

17:14That girl is just one big hug.

17:17The end.

17:18End Kate.

17:19Not beginning Kate, but maybe like the person that Kate becomes in John Tucker Must Die.

17:24Maybe?

17:25Yeah.

17:26None of the other ones actually.

17:27Thank you so much for having me, Self.

17:29It has been so strange and amazing and nostalgic to go back and think about all my characters

17:35and their decisions.

17:36And I really appreciate this therapy session that we had together.

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