# Samantha Sloyan's Margaret White in Carrie > Samantha Sloyan reimagines Stephen King's Carrie as a mother-daughter love story with social media activism. - Title: Samantha Sloyan's Margaret White in Carrie · Polygon - Summary: Samantha Sloyan reimagines Stephen King's Carrie as a mother-daughter love story with social media activism. Samantha Sloyan portrays Margaret White, a… - Keywords: samantha sloyan, mike flanagan, carrie, stephen king, midnight mass, the haunting of hill house, social media, bullying, carrie white, margaret white, netflix, flanagan showrunners - Source: Polygon — https://polygon.com/carrie-interview-mike-flanagan-samantha-sloyan - Author: Jake Kleinman - Published: 2026-10-11T16:00:16+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: samantha sloyan, mike flanagan, carrie, stephen king, midnight mass, the haunting of hill house, social media, bullying, carrie white, margaret white, netflix, flanagan showrunners ## Samantha Sloyan's Role in Flanagan's Carrie Samantha Sloyan plays Margaret White, Carrie's mother in Mike Flanagan's modern reimagining of Stephen King's Carrie. > Samantha Sloyan has played various roles across the Mike Flanagan horror universe, both empathetic and extremely hateable. ## Margaret White's Complex Role Flanagan's Margaret White is far more complex than the 1976 film or Stephen King's original novella, with a tragic love for her daughter. > I think she fails her daughter in a lot of ways, she's loving her in the wrong way. ## Flanagan's Reimagining Approach Flanagan reimagined Carrie by focusing on Margaret and Carrie's relationship as a loving mother-daughter bond, fundamentally changing the story. > Mike's point of view for this, of “why carrie ?”, was to bring everything down really to its foundation and then rebuild it as a different structure in a lot of ways. ## Margaret and Social Media Margaret uses social media to expose the bullying account Carrie Red, creating an anti-bullying movement that becomes violent. > She drank the kool-aid and is excited by the attention. ## Sloyan's Empathy Approach Sloyan approaches villainous roles with deep empathy, understanding the character's perspective without judging them. > Sam's one of the kindest, most egoless people i've ever encountered. ## Margaret's Motivation Margaret's goal is to protect her daughter by keeping her in their home, despite the violent consequences of her actions. > We'll get back to normal soon enough. ## Sloyan's Previous Role Sloyan previously played Bev Keane in Midnight Mass, an irredeemable villain who refused to admit culpability until the end. > She believed so intensely that she was right, to the point where she was unwilling to see that this is not an angel. ## Flanagan's Praise Flanagan calls Sloyan 'one of the best actors I've ever met' for her ability to portray complex characters with empathy. > She's honestly one of the best actors i've ever met. ## Margaret's Tragic Choice Margaret's love for her daughter leads her to make choices that harm her, creating a cycle of violence and emotional abuse. > If i love my daughter, i'm willing to do absolutely anything to protect her. ## Sloyan's Acting Philosophy Sloyan focuses on understanding the character's perspective before making decisions, avoiding villainous stereotypes. > When i play characters, i don't really come at it from a point of view of them being a villain because it really colors how you connect to the choices. ## Key takeaway Samantha Sloyan portrays Margaret White, a complex mother in Mike Flanagan's modern Carrie reimagining, who uses social media to fight bullying but becomes entangled in its violence.