Carey Mulligan covers the new issue of WSJ. Magazine. I just read through the whole piece and to say that Carey receives some of the most glowing press of any young actress in the world would be an understatement. WSJ. Magazine absolutely fawns over her, as did Vogue Magazine. It’s a reminder (to me) that Carey largely flies undercover by choice, but when she wants to turn it on and remind people that she’s got a new project, she can really turn it on. In this interview, Carey talks about how dorky she is (she wrote letters to Eminem!!!), how her parents didn’t want her to become an actress, and how she decides on what projects to take. You can read the full piece here. Some highlights:
She wrote letters to celebrities as a teenager: “I was such a weird, geeky kid. I wrote to Eminem and told him I thought his songs were amazing.”
Her husband, Marcus Mumford, keeping her down-to-earth: “It’s always nice to come home to someone who will tell you when it’s all bollocks. Because the minute you get to be like, ‘Oh, God, I’m nailing it, look how famous I am,’ you should give it up.’”
Making it a rule to never accept a part in the first meeting with a director: “I used to be so eager and overenthusiastic that I would take jobs in the room. But that got me into a world of trouble. It got messy.”
The confidence she’s gained over the years: “I used to walk into every rehearsal room and think, I hope I don’t get fired. Now I feel like I’m allowed to have an opinion.”
Regretting the decision to pass on the role that Rooney Mara played in Spike Jonze’s Her: “I’d just done four jobs in a row; I was about to collapse. But I watched it and thought, Dammit, that was brilliant. I won’t let that happen again.”
How she chooses roles: “The role has to be a female that has been written really well, or is strongly representing some aspect of femininity—otherwise, I’m not really interested in it.”
She regrets taking a role in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps: “It was a lesson to me that if I don’t have enough to get ahold of, it doesn’t work for me.”
I have mixed feelings about her bold (?) statement about the only parts she’ll play, that “the The role has to be a female that has been written really well, or is strongly representing some aspect of femininity.” On one side, I think it’s great that she holds herself to such high standards and she’s willing to say no to stuff that she doesn’t feel is worth her time. On that, good for her. That takes balls. On the other side, not every actress can do this. In fact, very few actresses can do this. Most actresses – even the good ones – have to take roles for various other reasons, like they need a paycheck or they want to mix up their resumes with commercial hits and indie films. While Carey’s position works for her, it feels like she’s one of the only actresses out there who can manage to pull this off.
And writing to Eminem? Epic.
Photos courtesy of WSJ. Magazine.
I like what she says about the roles she wants to take. If a well-established actresses, who can afford to be more picky, will settle for badly written, misogynistic versions of female characters, the change will never come. But when some super confident, influential producer will hear a “no” from one good actress after another and will have to make a movie with some semi-known starlet instead of an intended A-lister, he might be forced to reconsider his vision of what a well-written female character is, if only for purely financial and promotional reasons (the only ones they care about). So it’s great she is wiling to do that, even if she is one of the relatively small group of those, who can.
Maybe she’s not desperate for money like the rest of Hollywood. Good for her
I find her face really annoying. Not really her face because she is very pretty but her look of “I am about to cry at any moment”. It could also be “I am near sighted and squinting my eyes put things in focus.”
Watch her in Shame ( Steve McQueen’s movie )and you will change your opinion on her
Man she was so great in that movie.
LOVED her in Shame.
AuroraO I have the Same problem, I watched her in Shame and everything I just don’t like that precry sad-eyes deal (same Reason I Love Kerry Washington but don’t watch scandal.. too many trembly lips voice/eyes to deal)
+1. She always has kind of a hangdog look on her face. wouldn’t hurt to smile sometimes!
To be honest, since she went the brunette route she has looked much, much more interesting and beautiful to me.
As a brunette she looks instantly charming, like she’s capable of showing intense, deep feelings she could not express as a bland blond. She has always had a constant hint of a sad, melancholic little smile, and that really works now: paired with dark hair, it makes her look like a romantic, old-novel character (with blond hair that smile looked way too precious-and-needy-will-somebody-help-me-please).
Overall, as far as looks are concerned, I like her a lot more now. And she is a great actress, so there’s that 🙂
i believe her, she seems to have huge breaks between interesting projects. as long as she is willing to sit it out and dont complain when people forget about her its fine.
I just came here to honk. I think Carey is an interesting person and I like hearing what she has to say.
And sure, some lower-tier actresses don’t have the option to reject roles. But if more bankable female stars demand roles that are interesting and thoughtful, we can start going to the movies and seeing more and more amazing female characters. Plus, she doesn’t say everyone should or can turn down roles. She’s just talking about what works for her.
I loved Carey in Drive and Shameless. I know she’s in fortunate position career wise but I still wish everybody would take this same approach to roles. I grew up watching black men depicted as big scary men or victims needing a white hero to do some rescuing or comedic relief for the very serious, very sexy white hero. I was greatful for Denzel, Will and others refusing to play those roles. So what if they’ll just find another clown?! Atleast you didn’t contribute to the problem. Wait tables for just a little longer.
Am I the only one out here who does not get why she’s a big deal? I’ve always found her annoying. Not entirely sure why. And she just never struck me as that great of an actress.
Nope – Im with you.
Mostly because she always comes across to me as super uppity. Like great that you take your art so seriously, but no need to implicitly malign actresses that make different choices.
I always get an “uptight” vibe from her. But I do understand and agree with what she says in general. But I don’t find her outstanding as an actress, she bores me a little. And it could be from her roles but interviews just reinforce that for me. I don’t like the goofy, too relatable approach but she is SO SERIOUS!
She’s been coming across really good to me lately, I feel like she’s always picked really juicy female roles, she is a tad boring for the most part but that’s part of why I like her, she produces consistently good work and her private life is her own.
God, high school me would have loved that cover outfit including the hair, except I would have worn platform shoes.
I don’t know much about her, but she seems thoughtful and intelligent.
She’s working that outfit. I love these pictures of her.
Carey Mulligan is great, and I really admire what she says about picking good roles. But I don’t think she’s the only actresses selecting parts that way. For example, Jennifer Lawrence’s career so far has been based on strong female roles, with her characters being in active control of their destiny – and arguably Emma Stone also, bar Gangster Squad and a few other girlfriend parts. However, I’m not sure other actresses have that luxury , having recently seen the very talented Brie Larsen wasted as Mark Wahlberg’s girlfriend in The Gambler (avoid).
@Alice D: Agreed.
When does she become “Hollywood Icon”?
Love her, she’s such a luminous talent especially when I saw her onstage in Skylight I was blown away by how transparent she is (and that voice!). I don’t think she takes her choices for granted (she’s acknowledged before how fickle the industry is) but even the most famous actress needs some integrity to turn down the shallow blockbuster roles for solid independent roles. It’s a big career risk to wait so long for the right film and she practically disappears when she’s not promoting one, so she’s definitely doing it for the right reasons – to be a good actress and tell good stories, not to be famous. Good for her.
Love her, but after this and the Vogue interview, I’m ready to say lighten the f**ck up!!!
I agree. I love her, love seeing her films, but wish she could have a bit more fun with the promotional side of her work (which I’m sure is a drag, but it goes hand in hand with her being paid to act in the films that are important to her). People in the industry seem to treat her with a lot of respect, so it wouldn’t hurt her image to crack a smile every once in a while.
“but wish she could have a bit more fun with the promotional side of her work”
Then you need to watch the video she did for Vogue, “Carey Mulligan Knows the Secret to Being a True New Yorker”.
I stand corrected! I just watched her interview on Graham Norton and that must have coloured my perception.
Don’t worry – she’s a darling for now but once she gets really big the backlash will happen, just like with Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, etc. etc. etc. No one likes these women to get too successful.
A feminist in Hollywood is like a vegetarian in a abattoir.
“The role has to be a female that has been written really well, or is strongly representing some aspect of femininity”. This could be anything really. A well written part OR a gold-digging tacky side-piece – as that is an aspect of femininity. What even does aspect of femininity mean?
She was fantastic in Drive but stop thinking so much. Funny, silly movies can show real feelings too, gritty does not mean more real.
I think often about Julianne Moore who has a really diverse, great body of work AND it includes Jurassic Park and I love that. I admire an actress who is serious about the job but understands that the “art” concept isn’t the only way to go to be taken seriously and have prestige.
I didn’t like her in the great gatsby, she was wrong for that part but I do love her voice when she speaks in her own accent. It’s beautiful. Without it she’s blah.
I think it’s a really dangerous path when one starts out with “I’m going to create art”. It’s a bit like a painter claiming they will now paint a masterpiece. She has the privilege of picking and choosing her parts and I think it’s admirable that she isn’t throwing herself at anything that comes her way but had ‘An Education’ never happened, I doubt her Marple-shooting Doctor Who-chasing self would be so uppity about it.
“Had ‘An Education’ never happened, I doubt her Marple-shooting Doctor Who-chasing self would be so uppity about it”. – Yep
Plus doesn’t her husband come from a wealthy family, in addition to being a fairly successful musician? It’s kind of easy to say that you can take what projects you want, without any consideration for money, when you’ve got a partner to shoulder a lot of that.
But I also agree with the first commentator–if more famous actresses start turning down glorified girlfriend roles in supposedly “deep” roles, then we’ll see more change.
Ehhh maybe for some of you she needs to start by saying “I know how lucky I am to be able to approach my career this way….” But to me she doesn’t come off as uppity or judging of the way other actresses choose roles. She is simply speaking as an actress with a well-established career. I’m sure she’s aware that it’s a privilege to get to choose only strong roles.