Rooney Mara Covers Vogue Promoting Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
October 17, 2011 by Hollywoodite
Rooney Mara covers Vogue November 2011 promoting Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Mara is the female lead of the near scene-for-scene remake of the 2009 Swedish movie of the same name based on the books. There’s a vague, half-hearted debate over Mara’s casting and whether she’s got the acting chops and physicality to pull off the role pulled off with ease by Noomi Rapace.
Mara was basically not even on the list of potential leads when director David Fincher was working on his remake; an English language copy pasta of the 2009 movie, but for some embellishments. He looked at some girls then Mara was suggested, even though she felt she didn’t get to know him or the cast during their filming of The Social Network where she played Erica Albright, the main character Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend, over ‘four days and 2,400 takes.’
There’s an exceedingly long interview on Vogue.com where Fincher does most of the talking, talks for Mara, and he seems to keep a close eye on how she and the film are portrayed. It’s here. Her main interview snippets are below along with her shoot.
On the 2011 version poster with her chest exposed: “There’s a certain way people are used to seeing nude women, and that’s in a submissive, coy pose, not looking at the camera,” Mara says. “And in this poster, I’m looking dead into the camera with no expression on my face… I think it freaks a lot of people out.’
On her physicality compared to Rapace’s: ‘One of the things that make our version that much more heartbreaking,’ says Mara, ‘is that even though I am playing a 24-year-old, I look much younger. I look like a child.’ [Asked] if she had to get unhealthily skinny for the role. She says, “Umm… not really.”
On her pre-GWTDT style: “Before, I dressed much girlier,” she says. “A lot of blush-colored things. Now I literally roll out of bed and put on whatever is there. I have really enjoyed being a boy this last year.” Then… ‘[they] cut my hair, shaved the sides, bleached the eyebrows, then dyed my hair black,” she says. “Then we went and did the piercings; all in one day. I went in looking like Erica Albright and I came out like this.” Was she traumatized? “The eyebrows were the biggest shock because that really changed my face, and I didn’t recognize myself. But I was fine because I knew it was going to be really helpful for getting into character.”
On her personality fitting the part: “I am very slow to warm,” Mara says. “I’ve always been sort of a loner. I didn’t play team sports. I am better one-on-one than in big groups.” This, she says, is one reason she gets the character. “I can understand wanting to be invisible and mistrusting people and wanting to understand everything before you engage with the world.”
On her background: Mara’s great-grandfathers are Tim Mara, who founded the New York Giants, and Art Rooney, founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Because of this lineage, phrases like football heiress and trust-fund baby get thrown around in the press “I don’t have a trust fund,” she says. “I grew up in a little cul-de-sac in the suburbs and went to public school. I went to Costco on the weekends.” Mara seems almost pained to be so defensive. “When my great-grandfathers founded those teams it cost, like, $500. My dad is one of eleven children. I am one of 40 grandchildren. What bothers me about the whole trust-fund thing is that it sort of presumes that everything is handed to you. And if there is one thing about my family that I do identify with, it is that everyone is extremely hardworking. Also, the people whom I grew up with all did things they really loved. And I think that’s an important lesson.”
On why she nearly quit acting: Pre-Fincher, her biggest role was in the disappointing 2010 reboot of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Mara minces no words about the experience. “I hated it,” she says. “It left me thinking, If this is what is available to me, then I don’t necessarily want to be an actress. And then I got the script for The Social Network.”
On working with a successful director: “Where do I go from here?” she says. “I’ve been trying to really live in the moment because I will never get this part of it back. As soon as the movie comes out, everyone will turn it into what they believe it is, so I’ve really been trying to appreciate every minute of now. Because I know what’s coming.” She is perhaps rightfully wary about the media circus that is sure to accompany the film’s release. “That kind of fame is not something I ever wanted for myself,” she says. “It just so happens that this huge, gigantic monster of a film came around that also happens to have the most incredible character that I ever could have dreamed up. But my fear with a movie like this is the kind of exposure you get from it. I think that can be death to an actor. The more people know about you, the less they can project who you are supposed to be. It’s unfortunate that you really only get one shot at that. After this, I won’t be able to be that girl again.”
On the aftermath of the notorious physical scenes: “I don’t know how to describe it. I think, physically, it was hardest. I got really beat up. But I gave myself a few days and then I was fine.” – via Vogue.
PHOTO CREDIT – VOGUE MAGAZINE
