You filmed The Shallows on the Gold Coast, and Australian surf conditions can be pretty unfriendly. After spending so much time in the water, were there any run-ins with the waves? 

I bashed my nose once when the waves took hold of me and the buoy crashed down onto me. That was probably the worst thing that happened to me. My nose was bleeding pretty heavily after that, but it could have been worse.

Was it important that you already knew how to surf before filming began? 

It would have been very difficult to look convincing in some of the scenes if I hadn’t learned to surf before. I’m also very proud that I did almost all the surfing and stunt scenes by myself and it was only when we were doing re-shoots and I was already pregnant that we shot some sequences with a stunt double.

The great white shark is the bad guy in The Shallows, but do you think that’s the case in reality? 

That’s one of the interesting aspects to the story. Sharks are always being painted as the villains and as predatory creatures. But humans are the ultimate predators. Global warming is responsible for pushing sharks into shallower waters and we’re hearing about more shark attacks in recent years. That’s why we called the film The Shallows.

People should also be aware that we’re killing many more sharks because of the damage we’re doing to our planet, compared to how many people die because of sharks. Sharks are actually amazing creatures and are under major threat.

In some ways, your character in the film, Nancy, is responsible for her own predicament…