Gay&Night-ZiZo December 2015

Interview / Rooney Mara
‘IT’S
JUST
A LOVE
STORY’
Set in 1950s New York,
two women from very
different backgrounds nd
themselves in the throes
of love in Carol. Both stars
Cate Blanchett and Rooney
Mara received praise for
their portrayal of starcrossed
lovers; Mara was
awarded the prize for best
actress at the Cannes Film
Festival. Gay&Night sat
down with her after the
world premiere.
What was the main reason to say
yes to this project?
‘Well, of course it was a dream come to
true to work with Cate. I’m a huge admirer
of her work. But at rst, I turned the part
down. The project came to me before
director Todd Haynes was attached to it.
It was shortly after I nished shooting The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I really
felt I couldn’t do anything else at that
moment. I literally gave all of myself to
that part, and I felt I couldn’t do any good
in another project. So I said no. But luckily
the producers came back to me a year later,
when Todd asked for me. And then I said
yes, without any doubt.”
Were you under her spell, just like
your character?
‘There are some similarities between our
characters, yes. I’m a quiet, internal person,
just like Therese. Cate is not a really loud
person, but she really has a presence. It is
hard not to be under her spell when you
meet her. You never know if you’re going
to be a good match. We had a week of
rehearsals, and we just sat down and talked
about the script. We clicked. But even when
there’s chemistry in real life, you can never
be sure if the camera notices the same spark
between your characters. Some people that
don’t get along in real life have really good
chemistry on screen.’
Did you consider turning down the
part because of the gay element in
the story?
‘No, why would I? I can’t imagine any
actress turning down a part next to Cate
in a Todd Haynes lm. I was crazy to turn it
down the rst time. But that had nothing
to do with the story. I was in a dark, selfloathing
place. It’s a wonderful role. It
never crossed my mind not wanting to do
this project because it was a gay character.’
Even the story itself doesn’t
emphasize the gay element.
‘Therese sees Carol in the store and she
is fascinated by her. She doesn’t notice
her being a woman, she has never seen a
creature like her before. Carol is a selfpossessed,
independent, powerful person
who is very forward and bold and funny
and beautiful. I recognize that feeling; I
have it with women all the time. I can stare
at them and think “they have so many
beautiful qualities, how do they do it?”
Therese is a young girl, still looking for the
kind of woman she wants to become. And
she sees Carol and thinks: “is that somebody
I would want to be with? I didn’t know
that was even an option”. After that, they
become romantically entangled and it turns
into love. But it only starts out as curiosity.’
Tekst Robbert Blokland
213 017