Naomi Watts: Lessons in life & love

When Naomi Watts met Sam Bloom, the courageous Aussie she portrays in her latest film, they bonded for life. In a moving interview, Naomi tells Juliet Rieden about the power of family love, bringing her children back to Australia and embracing her 50s.

- Juliet Rieden

Naomi Watts was at home in New York when she started leafing through the pages of the book that would change her family’s world. Penguin Bloom had been sent to her by fellow producer Emma Cooper, who thought the unique true story might make the basis for a film.

“I just want you to look at this and see if it captures your imagination,” Emma said, gently seeding an idea she was convinced would interest Naomi. She was right!

The 2016 book about Aussie mum Sam Bloom, with husband Cameron’s intimate photographs of Sam, their family and the injured baby magpie they adopted, takes your breath away and was about to light an eternal spark in Naomi and her children.

“I put the book aside and then pulled it out on Sunday. It was a lazy morning in bed and the kids [Sasha and Kai] were still little. I remember being completely captivated by these images and I thought, particularly for one of my kids who is very much into nature – and from the age of about four can tell you about every animal: what it eats, its habitat, how it lives, every detail, every country it comes from, everything – I knew that I would at least get his interest,” Naomi tells The Weekly.