On her first day on set Incomplete womenApple TV’s newest mystery series, Kate Mara finds herself playing a dead corpse.
As it turns out, this wasn’t the only time she photographed a corpse. Earlier in her career, in the 2017 film Chappaquiddickshe had the role of Mary Jo Kopechne, the young campaign staffer who died when Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge. Before that, in 2014, she played reporter Zoe Barnes in Netflix’s groundbreaking political drama House of cards – She was the one who was pushed by Kevin Spacey in front of a subway train.
Practice, as they say, makes perfect. Or as Mara says: “This wasn’t my first time on one of those boards.”
Fortunately for the 43-year-old actress — who happens to be Rooney Mara’s older sister, as well as the granddaughter of Tim Mara, founder of the New York Giants, and Art Rooney, founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers — she played herself in the film. Incomplete women It includes a lot of undead representation as well. She stars — largely in flashbacks — alongside Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss as part of a trio of friends from college in Los Angeles who turns toxic and begins spilling secrets after Mara’s character is murdered.
“I knew right away that this was something I would be interested in,” she says.
Mara has not worked with Washington before, but her husband, actor Jamie Bell, has co-starred in the 2022 film. Bright girls). Years ago, she briefly met Mara herself scandal Actress, when she first started auditioning as a teenager. “Kerry’s manager is the one who started my career,” she says. “When I was 14, we got… [the manager’s] Information one way or another, and I sent her a tape of me singing a song, along with my resume and profile picture. Mara began sending her to auditions and eventually started getting small roles: An episode of Law and order Where she played the role of the daughter of a murder victim, as well as shows such as Nip/tuck and Everwood. It’s not long before she’s able to raise enough money to support herself – and convince her parents that she doesn’t need to go to college.
Over the course of a decade, she steadily climbed the casting ladder, playing Heath Ledger’s daughter in 2005. Brokeback Mountaina waitress in a small town in 2006 We are MarshallAnd the widow of a sniper in 2007 Shootp. But then, in 2013, she was cast as Zoe Barnes, a snobby reporter who becomes strange bedfellows with Frank Underwood. House of cards. The character was killed off after just one season, but her career took off after that, with excellent ensemble roles in big-budget films like the 2015 superhero film. Fantastic Four In the same year, Ridley Scott’s massive survival epic Matt Damon Martian.
However, despite spending time on such lavish sets, she wasn’t quite prepared for the level of spending on the Apple TV series. “Our trailers were in Hancock Park, and we were driving through this amazing neighborhood to photograph this beautiful house, and it was so magical,” she says. “It was very, very big.” It was also uncharacteristically convenient, as it was the first time she had been able to work at home in Los Angeles — where she and her husband raised three children — in 15 years, since she played Dylan McDermott’s unstable mistress on the Los Angeles season. American Horror Story (Her character was killed off in that series as well.)
However, Mara has no problem stepping up when needed, and has just finished filming two smaller productions. To star in Tim Robinson’s quirky black comedy FriendshipShe spent days in New Jersey’s sewers. “I thought, ‘Oh, this scene is going to be on the soundstage,'” she says. “But it was real. And there were bats.” There were also the many weeks she spent on the set of Very Small, Very Small in Ireland, where Werner Herzog was filming his “very strange” drama. Baking Fastardin which she and her sister Ronnie work together, playing identical twins who are very close to each other, speak in unison, and fall in love with the same man.
There is one ambition that Mara has not yet achieved, which is to get a gig on Broadway. But she is determined. After Imperfect Women wrapped, she and her family left for New York and told her agents that she was looking for theatrical acting opportunities. Fortunately for her, she knows some people — like her cousin John Mara Jr., producer of the Broadway hit “John Proctor Is a Villain” — and has some helpful neighbors.
“I live near Carrie Coon, and our husbands had just shot a movie together, so I called her a few times to say, ‘Tell me exactly how do we get this done?’” she says.
On her first day on set Incomplete womenthe latest thriller on Apple TV, Kate Mara finds herself dead.
As it turns out, this wasn’t the only time she photographed a corpse. Earlier in her career, in the 2017 film Chappaquiddickshe had the role of Mary Jo Kopechne, the young campaign staffer who died when Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge. Before that, in 2014, she played Zoe Barnes, the plucky reporter pushed in front of a subway train by Kevin Spacey in Netflix’s groundbreaking political drama. House of cards.
But her death is on Incomplete women It was at least a little different. “Somehow,” she noted, “this was my first time on one of those boards.”
Fortunately for the 43-year-old actress — who happens to be Rooney Mara’s older sister, as well as the granddaughter of Tim Mara, founder of the New York Giants, and Art Rooney, founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers — she played herself in the film. Incomplete women It includes a lot of undead representation as well. She stars — largely in flashbacks — alongside Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss as part of a group of friends in Los Angeles that turns toxic and begins spilling secrets after Mara’s character is murdered. “I knew right away that this was something I would be interested in,” she says.
Mara has never worked with Moss before, but her husband, actor Jamie Bell (they co-star in the 2022 film), has. Bright girls). Years earlier, Mara herself had met Washington briefly, when Mara began auditioning as a teenager. “It was Kerry’s manager, tribute to Cathy Atkinson, that started my career,” she says. “When I was 14, we somehow got information about her, and I sent her a tape of me singing a song, along with my CV and profile picture.” Apparently this was enough. Mara began sending her to auditions and getting small roles: an episode of Law and order It also appears like Nip/tuck and Everwood. Soon she was earning enough money to support herself and convince her parents that she did not need to go to university.
Over the course of a decade, she steadily climbed the casting ladder, playing Heath Ledger’s daughter in 2005. Brokeback Mountain The fan, who is also the narrator of 2006 We are Marshall. But then, in 2013, she was cast as Zoe Barnes, a snobby reporter who becomes strange bedfellows with Frank Underwood. House of cards. The character was killed off after just one season, but Mara’s career took off with excellent ensemble roles in big-budget films like the 2015 superhero film. Fantastic Four In the same year, Ridley Scott’s massive survival epic Matt Damon Martian.
However, despite spending time on such lavish sets, she wasn’t quite prepared for the level of spending on the Apple TV series. “It was so big and so magical,” she says. It was also uncharacteristically convenient, as it was the first time she had been able to work at home in Los Angeles — where she and her husband raised three children — since she played Dylan McDermott’s unstable mistress in the 2011 season. It is set in Los Angeles. American Horror Story (Her character was killed off in that series, of course.)
However, Mara has no problem handling it when the need arises, as when she starred in the twisty black comedy last year. Friendship He spent days filming in the sewers of New Jersey. “I thought, ‘Oh, this scene is going to be on the soundstage,'” she says. “But it was real. And there were bats.” There were also the several weeks she spent last year on the set of Very Small, Very Small in Ireland, where Werner Herzog was filming his upcoming and very strange drama. baking fastard, She and her sister Ronnie play identical twins who are very close, speaking in unison and falling in love with the same man.
There is one ambition that Mara has not yet achieved, which is to get a gig on Broadway. But she is determined. After packaging Incomplete womenShe and her family moved to New York and she told her agents that she was looking for theatrical acting opportunities. Fortunately for her, she knows some people, like her cousin John Mara Jr., the producer of the hit Broadway play. John Proctor is the villain -And he has some helpful neighbors.
“I live near Carrie Coon, and our husbands had just shot a movie together, so I called her a few times to say, ‘Tell me exactly how do we get this done?’” she says.
This story appeared in the March 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.
