There’s a moment in the new People We Meet on Vacation movie where Emily Bader, playing the can’t-seem-to-get-her-shit-together Poppy, and her best friend, the straitlaced Alex (Tom Blyth), are dancing in a New Orleans bar. They’re pretending to be a married couple recounting the choreographed first dance from their wedding. Paula Abdul is playing on the speakers, the lights are low, there’s a disco ball, and as they playfully circle one another, something shifts. It’s the inflection point in the movie—where friends start to inch even closer to lovers, and the attraction between the leads shifts into more serious territory.
But the bliss on the screen wasn’t quite reflective of the nerves on set that day. “I’m terrified of dancing, and that scene was not in the original script,” Bader said in a Zoom interview with Cosmopolitan over the holiday break. “So when our director Brett Haley told me that we had a five-minute dance scene, I nearly had to leave.” Thankfully for all of us, she didn’t. And the result is one of those classic rom-com moments that makes you squeal and ask yourself if you should give these two some space.
For those familiar with the wildly popular Emily Henry book this movie is based on (2 million copies sold in the U.S., over 60 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list), it should be a relief that the source material is in good hands. Bader, who is best known for her work on the canceled-far-too-soon Prime Video show My Lady Jane, which is also based on the beloved novel of the same name, knows about taking on a fan-favorite character. She was protective of the right to give Poppy the messy, unrefined qualities that make her arc so compelling and her dynamic with Alex irresistible. Below, she talks about going from one beloved property to another, wanting to do justice for the fans, and how that impeccable dance scene came to life.
I first saw you in My Lady Jane, so I was pretty convinced you were British. And watching People We Meet on Vacation, I was like, Wow, her American accent is so good. Where is she from? Turns out, it’s California.
We should convince the world from this point on that I’m actually British and that I’m just great at an American accent, because that makes me look so much cooler. I’m just super in character all the time, with this California vocal fry I’ve got going on. I wish that were the case. I take that as compliment, because I was desperate to make sure that accent in My Lady Jane was solid. Otherwise, I think it would have been pitchforks and fire.
My Lady Jane built a very passionate fan base very quickly. What did you take from that experience going into filming this movie, which is based on a book that is also incredibly beloved?
I know there’s so much pressure to do justice for the fans, but what I took away from My Lady Jane is that they will trust you to do your interpretation of it, if the heart of where the character is is in line. My Lady Jane was a clearer branch-off from the book, so I had more of that freedom. It was aged up. It was a little bit sexier and raunchier. But I noticed that the fans of these romantic, sprawling worlds are accepting of changes as long as the heart of it remains the same.
I felt relief, actually, when it came to to this. I was initially horrified by the prospect of letting people down. I felt relieved when they did the casting announcement and the general consensus was positive. I felt safe to bring parts of myself to Poppy in the ways that I brought parts of myself to Jane, and I hope that they will appreciate that.
I think most book fans—big emphasis on most—are so thrilled to see their thing on the screen that if the spirit of it is the same, they’re typically happy.
I’m that person. I am such a fangirl. You just have to respect them. Our director did that from the very beginning. He was conscious of what Emily Henry felt was really important to include, and then some of the things that obviously had to change, because it’s a different medium. Going from that place of respecting that we’re making it for everyone but also really for these people.
Do you try to tune out the online chatter, or do you welcome it as feedback?
I’m supposed to tune it out. My therapist would say, “Delete it, put it on mute.” But I definitely look. That’ll probably change at some point in my life. I just like seeing what people genuinely think. I’m very nosy.
Rom-coms live and die by the chemistry. What do you remember about your chemistry read with Tom?
Tom, Brett, and I were all in three very different parts of the world. Getting us on a Zoom at the same time for at least an hour and a half was almost an impossible feat. I had to Zoom in to talk to someone from casting about how to light myself, because they really wanted me not to screw that up. I had to test my Wi-Fi. All the theatrics of that helped me, because I was petrified. When I was able to see Tom for the first time, I felt a little bit more at ease than I normally would.
What’s so brilliant about Tom is that he already had the job, so he didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to. And he was so there with me from the first step. I felt so supported. I always say you can feel within the first 10 seconds of something whether it’s gonna go well or not. And it was definitely like that.
So you knew right away that it was working?
I did. It’s there or it’s not. He was really present with me, and also really in tune with his character. Poppy and Alex, it’s such a fun dynamic to get to play. We did the scene of the first time they ever meet, which is this really long, elaborate, jabbering scene. And it was just a blast to get to act with him.
How involved was Emily Henry during filming? I noticed her quick cameo, but I won’t spoil where it is.
She was very involved with Brett. I think there were years when this movie was not getting made. So by the time we actually started making it, they had a really good rapport. And then she basically was like, “Hi, you’re gonna do great. Love ya. Let me know if you need anything. Bye.” It’s the greatest gift.
I can’t even imagine what it’s like seeing your creation come to life in front of you. I would have such a hard time relinquishing that vision. She said something that was so amazing to hear as an actor when we were halfway through filming. She said, “When I read the book now, I think of you guys.” That was weight off your shoulders because all you want is to make her proud.
What are some of the fan favorite Poppy traits or moments you were particularly protective of?
Poppy is described as dressing, in certain moments, like a circus clown. She’s constantly grabbing a really cool piece of something from a thrift store, but it goes with absolutely nothing in her closet. That was a small thing I felt like fans would care about.
We didn’t want to tone her down. She’s super excitable, and she’s a million miles an hour. That’s where she’s happy; that’s where she’s functioning the best. She’s like an energizer bunny. It’s scary to play that as a young woman because it can be seen in a negative way. I wanted to be careful about protecting the full extent of her personality, and not subduing it or muting it in any way, for the sake of me being nervous about how she’d be perceived by people.
When you first meet her, she is all over the place. How do you think it sets viewers up for that emotional payoff later on?
Poppy shows you right away that she is unable to be anyone but entirely herself. That is not her problem. Her problem is not accepting who she is; it’s accepting that who she is is someone worthy of love. That’s a different sort of problem to what Alex is experiencing. You see both their characters set up in a very clear way. She’s 100 percent authentically herself, which is a wonderful thing, but that doesn’t mean she’s been able to accept other people perceiving her fully, letting people see it for long enough. She knows exactly how she comes across to people, and she truly thinks that no one will ever be able to put up with it long enough to build a lasting thing.
How many different locations did you film in for this?
We were so sneaky. We shot all around Spain. Barcelona was the big pivot from the book, which was in part because of weather and probably some other film-y reasons. We faked Tuscany in Spain. We went to Northern Spain and faked Canada. There’s this random patch of land that has these giant trees and big lakes and mountains and we put some tents out there. I think it sells.
We did New Orleans and some of the other locations in outer Louisiana, so it was only two spots. But we did get to go to all around Spain, like Costa Brava, which was the most ridiculous thing to get to do as a job. It was like, Okay, friends, let’s all get on a tour bus and drive up to a stunning beachside resort and play pretend. It was the best.
The “Forever Your Girl” dance sequence takes place in that New Orleans stretch. How much choreography went into that?
We got to New Orleans and went to this old church. We rehearsed our dance there for two days with this amazing choreographer. We took reference from movies we loved. And Tom’s a very good dancer. Even though he won’t say it, you can see it in the sequence. I was scrapping different ideas together into this chain of weird Poppy and Alex moves. And then on the day, it was just an entire day of dancing, music playing in this crazy bar in New Orleans, people outside running around being drunk and crazy and us trying not to break our ankles, basically.
That was a real transition moment for the two of them. They realize they have this chemistry. How did you go about communicating that through the dance?
There is something inherently flirty about being that close to each other. We always talked about, when do the shifts happen for Poppy and for Alex? And they don’t necessarily have to happen at the same time. We had decided early on that for Poppy, this New Orleans sequence is when the shift goes into, uh oh, what is this scary feeling? territory. The city they’re in is so alive and youthful and glittery, and it’s just intoxicating. And they get to fully be themselves. She gets to see a side of Alex she’s never seen before.
New Orleans is the first time that she thinks he’s hot. Like, really hot. That’s the first time that she’s like, Oh no, he’s sexy. And not just for someone else. That’s why it all shifts into gear there.
Is that actually Tom doing the worm?
Yeah. He’s so good at the worm. He did almost throw out his back, like, twice. That was his idea, by the way. No one suggested that. He said, “I’m going to do the worm right now.” I was happy to not have to do that and to just stand there and jump around.
Fast-forwarding to the end of the movie [LIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD], why do you think Alex ultimately decides to move to New York? In the scene when they’re at the wedding, I felt like he was giving Poppy an ultimatum, but then he ended up following her.
Alex wanting to stay in Linfield was a guise for something else. He’s saying, Settle down with me, build a life with me. I don’t think he needs to be there. That’s a big safety net for him. He would thrive in New York, and that’s why they’re good together. There needed to be a compromise there. If it ended with Poppy in Linfield, me personally, I would have been like, Ugh, that’s not her. She is a writer, and she wants to live in a big city and travel. He also thrives there and together, that’s where their life just makes the most sense. She pushes him.
The thing that’s fun about this movie is it’s not perfect. There is a lot of compromise that happens between these characters. It’s not a relationship that just snaps in and it makes sense. It’s aspirational but not in a foolish way. It’s trying to be realistic in the sense that, yeah, people need to compromise and build a life that makes the most sense for both of them together.
Controversial question: Is it ever okay to propose on a group or couples trip?
Hey, I don’t know. I wouldn’t do it, because it’s like, Way to just make it about you. The rest of the dinners on the trip are gonna have to be celebrating you. I don’t know if it was his finest move. But then again, the heart wants what it wants to settle for.
A running theme of this movie is “Vacation Alex,” when he finally locks in on vacation. What is the sign that Vacation Emily has arrived?
Probably when the back of my back and neck starts to hurt because my head is down and I’m looking for shells for hours. It’s truly my favorite thing to do, mindlessly stare at the ground and look for tiny creatures.
Playing Poppy, you have entered the lexicon of rom-com journalists. Who’s your favorite romcom journalist?
Bridget Jones is a journalist, right? I just watched that over the holidays. So that’s fresh in my mind. There are so many. We love an intellectual gal. We love a girl with a pen and a notepad.
Do you know what realization I had today? I was thinking about favorite rom-coms, because that’s the question that most people are interested in. I’ve been saying I love Meg Ryan. I love French Kiss and Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail. And then I had this epiphany that if you really break down what a rom-com is, Shrek is a rom-com.
Oh my god. I need a minute to process that.
A rom-com is a comedy about two people falling in love. That is Shrek. It’s sort of like the “is a hot dog a sandwich?” argument, sure. But I think if we agree, Shrek is a rom-com, then is Shrek maybe the greatest rom-com ever made? Just a thought.
I’m already convinced. Along the same argument, the movie that always ends up on lists of the best rom-coms is The Devil Wears Prada. Do you consider The Devil Wears Prada a rom-com though?
It’s hard because, not really, right? It’s not really romantic. She becomes a bad girlfriend and then a worse girlfriend. But it’s not about finding love. It’s more about finding yourself or something, right?
Exactly. And she ends up single.
Oh, right, they don’t even end up together at the end! Which is so crazy because I’ll never forget when he made her that insane grilled cheese sandwich and she didn’t even eat it. He specifically mentioned, “There’s, like, $8 of Jarlsberg in there.”
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