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Question: You’re obviously an actress who is very much
in demand. This is a smaller budget
film. What made you want to be a part of
this type of movie?
Rooney
Mara: I love small films. I saw David’s short, Pioneer, first before I
even read the script, and I thought it was so odd and compelling and different
than anything I had seen. I knew already
that he definitely had a special voice, because the way that was written was
different than anything I had heard.
Then, when I read the script, the same was true for the script. It was very poetic and very musical. David has a very musical ear for his
writing. It has a certain flow to
it. Then I met him, and I just had a
feeling about him that he was a special director. I loved the characters, I loved the world
that it took place in, and I loved the relationship between Bob and Ruth.
How
did you prepare mentally to play this mother who wants the best for her
daughter?
Mara: David wrote such a beautiful script and such
a beautiful relationship between Ruth and her daughter, so I didn’t have to
prepare that much. But I spent a lot of
time with the little girls beforehand so that we had some sort of relationship
before. It was the first thing they had
ever done, and we wanted them to be comfortable with me which happened very
quickly. They got attached to me very
quickly. It was so much fun working with
them. They made it pretty easy.
This
was the first time you’ve played a mother.
Was that a strange new dynamic for you as an actress?
Mara: No, it wasn’t. My family is so gigantic. I’ve grown up around so many babies and small
children. That’s what I did growing
up. I was a camp counselor. I was a nanny or a babysitter my entire life,
so I’ve always been around kids, and I’ve always had a very maternal quality to
myself. That part came easily and was
natural to me. It might surprise people
but I’m very maternal.
Your
accent in the film sounds very authentic.
How did you work on perfecting it?
Mara: I worked with a coach a few times, but it’s
such an easy accent to pick up because we’ve grown up hearing it. It’s easier to pick up as an American. I just feel like I’ve been hearing it my
whole life.
This
film feels somewhat like a fairy tale but the Grimm version with the dark
ending rather than the happy ending. Did
you ever discuss taking that approach?
Mara: No, we never talked about it in terms of
that. But certainly David talked about
wanting it to feel like a folk song. It
feels like a folk song more than anything.
Did
that present challenges to you as an actor?
Mara: No. I
found it super helpful that he had such a specific voice and that there was a
melody to his words. I liked that about
it.
Can
you talk about the relationship and deep connection between Ruth and Bob and
also that attraction towards Officer Wheeler?
Mara: (laughs)
Well, I love her relationship with Bob.
I think he said it in one of his monologues, they’re like two little
kids fighting over a ball. We talked
about how they met when they were 12 years old and were inseparable ever since.
They have this fiery relationship where
they fight and come back together, and they fight and come back together. Their relationship is childish in that way,
but I love that kind of love story about people who’ve been together since they
were little and people who’ve grown up together. Her attraction to Officer (Patrick)
Wheeler… I never saw it as her having an
attraction to him. The way I thought
about it when I was doing it is that Ruth is entirely loyal to Bob and she
wants to be with Bob, but at the same time, she wants to do what’s right for
her daughter. At the end of day, her
ideal would be to have them all be together, but she knows that’s not
possible. She wishes she would want to
be with someone like Patrick, but it wouldn’t be enough for her. The idea of him is a great comfort to her and
she wishes that she could have that.
He’s so different from Bob, and that’s really where her passion and her
love is. She wishes she could be with
someone like Patrick, but I don’t think it would fulfill her.
Mara: I loved watching his stuff. All of my favorite scenes in the whole movie
are stuff that I wasn’t there for. It
was very fitting the way we shot the film.
He went there first and shot all of his stuff, and then I came and we
shot our stuff together. Then he left
and I shot my stuff. He spent his whole
time trying to get back to Ruth, and we really didn’t know each other at
all. Bob has that fear on his way to
Ruth. Is she different now? What will she be like? I think [it’s similar to] the anticipation
that he had waiting for me to get there, then I got there and we shot our stuff
together, then he left. Ruth spends a
lot of the time nostalgic for Bob and longing for him and wanting him to come
back. They positioned it perfectly for
the way that we shot it.
Was
there any dialogue that you were able to add to the character?
Mara: Yes, we added some things every once in a
while. Ruth has a long monologue at the
end and I added to that. I worked with
David on that. Certainly, with the
little girl, a lot of those things were improv because you can’t script what’s
going to happen when you’re working with a kid like that. But most of it was in the script. You didn’t need to add much to that script.
Can
you talk about working with both Ben and Casey?
Mara: Yes.
They’re very different to work with.
I guess every actor I’ve worked with has been different. I very much enjoyed working with both of
them. They’re both fantastic
actors. I’ve been lucky in the people
that I’ve gotten to work with over the last few years. I don’t have anything but nice things to say
about both of them.
What
did you enjoy most about this film?
Mara: I enjoyed everything about the film. It was such a lovely experience making the
film. I don’t think there’s one person
that I didn’t like. It was small and
very close. I loved everything about
it. I did.
After
the Oscars, you probably received a lot of scripts. What happened afterwards that was the biggest
surprise?
Mara: Not that many surprising things
happened. Certainly, the opportunity
that I was afforded after that whole experience was tremendous and that was
very different for me. It was a very
different experience to be able to pick and choose what you want to work
on. Up until that point, I didn’t have
that luxury. I just worked when I was
asked to. That was very different for
me.
Do
you write scripts? Do you have any
interest in directing or producing?
Mara: God, no.
I don’t think I could write a script.
I don’t think I have that kind of self assurance and will power. I mean, certainly not an original one. But, I guess, never say, “Never.” Maybe someday very, very far from now I’d
like to direct, but I still have so much to learn about acting, so I don’t feel
like I should jump into something new.
How
does your experience working with David Lowery compare to working with David
Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, or someone like Terrence Malick?
Mara: Every director I’ve ever worked with has been
different from the next. I don’t ever
think about comparing them, because I’m just an actor. When I go into the experience of working with
someone new, I always try and give myself over to the way they do things. I don’t have a set way of doing things
because it’s not my place to. My job is
to be able to accommodate their process, and I like that. I like working with Fincher doing fifty
takes, and then I like working with Steven doing two takes. Every director is different, and I’m very
happy about that. If everyone had the
same process, it would be pretty boring.
Mara: (Laughs) He gets his own category.
What
do you look for in a project? And what
are you working on next?
Mara: I’m not working on anything right now, just
taking time off, trying to find something.
I don’t have a rhyme or reason to the things that I choose. I try and go on instinct, if I can hear the
character’s voice, or if it’s a story I feel like I need to tell or that I want
to be a part of. I try not to do the
same thing too much. I just go on
feeling.
Can
you talk about the status of the Terrence Malick movie you filmed?
Mara: You just want to know about the movie? I mean, I want to know about it, too. I wish I had some answers for myself. Honestly, it doesn’t even have a title
yet. I don’t know when it’s coming out
or even what it’s going to be about.
That’s the beautiful thing about Terry.
I don’t know. I’ll have to wait
and see it. (Laughs)
Is
The Girl who Played with Fire still happening at this point?
Mara: I hope so.
I don’t know, to be honest.
You
haven’t seen a script?
Mara: No.
But if I had, I wouldn’t tell you.
(Laughs)
Mara: She’s my sister. Of course, we talk about everything. We have the same job, so we have a lot of
things that we can celebrate together or commiserate about with each other. We can relate with each other on a lot of
different levels because we’re sisters and we also happen to work in the same
industry.
Is
your sister your best critic?
Mara: (Laughs) No.
She’s a little biased. I wouldn’t
judge her, and I don’t think I would trust her criticism.
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