Filming the opening scene of the Stan Original Series Wolf Like Me season two was an odd day at work for Isla Fisher.
There she was, standing in a wedding gown, covered in (fake) blood, with a wolf baby bursting through her stomach.
That really should be strange enough, but add in rain, a large background cast and an intense level of continuity on sprayed red goop however, and you have a real challenge.
But she kind of brought it upon herself.
"I'd actually pitched that scene to Abe as a semi-joke," Fisher told Mamamia, referring to series creator Abraham Forsythe. "Then he loved it and wrote it in, so I really enjoyed acting in that."
In Wolf Like Me, Fisher stars alongside Josh Gad as Gary, a single father living with his daughter Emma. She plays Mary, an isolated columnist who moved to Adelaide to escape her baggage. After many chance encounters, Gary and Mary's relationship blossoms... although, she has some baggage.
Namely, that she's a werewolf.
Mary and Gary fall in love and build a life together with Emma, which culminates in season two's biggest storyline: pregnancy.
It's Mary's deep anxiety about this next phase that leads to the bloody (and rather funny) opener and while Fisher is obviously (or hopefully – she merely laughed at the suggestion, but did not outright deny) not a werewolf, she feels like the story reveals a universal truth.
"Obviously parenting and being pregnant and having a baby is one of the most terrifying things that we as humans do. And there are so many things you have to reckon with and think about and remember from your childhood. Then make all of these kinds of choices, some instinctual, some are counterintuitive," Fisher explained.
"So to explore that, that level of unknown in a character, like married within the structure of this kind of comedy, which is already so heightened, it was challenging, but a lot of fun. Some of the baby group stuff, I remember thinking, 'Oh, this is so identifiable for mothers', and we all know what that feels like, the unknown that lies ahead."
As a mother-of-three, her own memories of pregnancy and parenting helped her tap into Mary's feelings.
"My own experience of fear and vulnerability and connection and loss of control physically when you're pregnant — it's nice to be able to bring all that to the character," she said.
"I don't want to sort of teach [the audience] a lesson through my character or try to give a message. I love the message just being you know, when somebody watches something, they feel less alone."
Fisher and Gad are near constant scene partners throughout the series, which is helped by how well they, as well as Ariel Donoghue who plays Emma, get along.
"I just think it was good casting," she said.
"We have a similar sense of humour, we all have a similar approach, like Josh is not a competitive performer, he's not trying to score the laugh in the scene or have an emotional landscape he wants to inhabit to kind of take the scene away. He's into complete equity when he's working and, and off screen too. He's just that kind of person... It was a true partnership."
This comfort is not just in the acting too. She described it as a "very relaxing work environment", lending to how much she trusts her scene partners and those behind-the-scenes as well, and of course, the enjoyment of being able to come home to Australia to film.
"I love the crews," she said. "It's fun to go back and you know, hear the words abbreviated.
"Sometimes in the film industry, the part that I don't like is there's sort of a social hierarchy, where you're not allowed to speak to this person if you're not in this department, and I don't really like that chain, I just prefer it to be more equal.
"And I love that when you're on an Aussie set, you just feel like you're included in a really great way and that no one's not going to say hello to you in the morning. It's just fun."
The Stan Original Series Wolf Like Me Season two is now streaming, only on Stan.
Feature image: Stan.