We are big “How I Met Your Mother” fans in this household. In fact, it’s one of the few television shows that MacKay and I both enjoy watching together (he’s not a fan of my Bravo reality tv shows.) You can imagine how thrilled I was to tell him that I had the opportunity to interview Cobie Smulders, who plays Emma in the movie Delivery Man.
Yesterday I gave you a peek at some of our behind the scenes fun on set and an exclusive interview with writer and director Ken Scott. We also had a chance to sit down with Smulders to speak with her about her role as a pregnant police officer who gets swept up the drama of her on-again off-again boyfriend, David Wozniak (played by Vaughn.)
The day of our visit, Vaughn and Smulders were filming a scene when Smulders character just found out she was pregnant and the couple’s future remained in the balance. Prior to the film, Smulders did some research here in New York City to help her prepare for her role.
“I met this guy when I was doing press for another movie and he works at the 34th Street Precinct. Said you know what, just come in and look around and talk to some people. He was super sweet. Took me around and then I also met a woman who was single mom. And that was really interesting because it’s possibly like the hardest job to be a single mom.” Smulders admitted, “You never know when you’re coming home really. They do like twelve hour shifts and she worked from like twelve to twelve, or, she had a shift where she was able to sometimes pick her kid up from school. But if she booked somebody she’d have to stay and file all that paperwork, and that takes hours. So that was really interesting and kind of having that in the back of my head going if I don’t have a partner in this, then I’m screwed. So I have to kind of make it work.”
Smulders, who has a four year old daughter, was even able to take her own personal experiences as a mother into her role.
“When you don’t have kids, you think you understand what it’s like to be a mom. But being a mom is a totally different thing. And also being a working mom. That helped a lot, too.”
Smulders, who has worked on How I Met Your Mother for eight years, shared a little bit of her experience working in both sitcoms and films.
“I’m lucky enough to work on a sitcom which is a job unto itself where it’s the best schedule you could ask for. It’s really like as normal a job as you can. It’s a nine to five kind of a job. You have four cameras, so there’s not a lot of coverage, not a lot of down time, so we’re really fast.” said Smulders :The thing that I like about films is you have a set amount of time that you get to play this part and be part of a story, and then it’s over and you get to move onto a different story.”
As a working mom who tries to juggle both a career that I love and children that I adore, it’s comforting to find other moms who make it work. It’s obvious that Smulders is doing something she is so passionate about, yet remains so grounded for her family. That’s someone who is doing it right.
Delivery Man hits theaters November 22.
{Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post. I was invited on the set of the movie. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}
