CULTURE

As her new film lays bare the truth about motherhood, director Nadia Conners tells us why her 50s are her best decade yet

When it came to casting the talent for her new film, The Uninvited, director Nadia Conners knew exactly who she wanted to be her leading man: her husband, Walton Goggins. But getting The White Lotus star to portray Sammy – a drug-taking, philandering, unsupportive partner – took some convincing.

“Walton was reading through the script with me at home and I was like: ‘Oh my God.’ What he brings to the character, it was sharp, almost killer energy,” she tells hello!.

“I wrote it about a marriage, but not my marriage, which concerned him – he was like: ‘But I’m not this guy.’ It was really important for him to say that he was not this guy. I said: ‘I know, but you’re a great actor, so you can pretend.’”

Although Nadia is keen to point out that the film is not an autobiographical take on their 20year relationship, there are some scenes in which art imitates life.

For example, an elderly woman with dementia did actually turn up at their door while they were getting ready for a party – and became the catalyst for the story Nadia wanted to tell.