Rooney Mara is a renowned actress known for her excellent work in selective projects. She picks her roles wisely and never misses a chance to nail them. She has been nominated for several top awards, like the Oscars, BAFTA, and Golden Globes.
Mara wasn’t well-known at the start of her career, but everything changed in 2010. She grabbed headlines when she got cast in David Fincher’s remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011.
She has also starred in some standout films like Her (2013), Carol (2015), Lion (2016), and Nightmare Alley (2021). The actress has learned from tough experiences that it’s best not to clash with directors. She values collaborating with them and trusts their vision for the project.
Rooney Mara’s Ultimate Lesson is Trusting Directors Above All
Early in her career, Rooney Mara realized the importance of selecting projects based on the director. The 38-year-old went on to say that she “had some bad experiences as an actor.” After the first time the actress worked with David Fincher, she “was like, ‘Oh, follow the director.’”
The Hollywood star shared at the Berlin Film Festival press conference (reported via Variety) for her new film La Cocina that she now selects her projects based on the director—following some unpleasant experiences. The NY native said:
“I really go by the director. I learned that pretty early,” Mara said when asked her process for selecting films. “I had some bad experiences as an actor. And then I think it was probably after the first time I worked with David Fincher that I was like, ‘Oh, follow the director.’ So I really make my choices based on the filmmaker and who I want to work with because at the end of the day, it’s all them.”
Mara is the lead in La Cocina—directed and written by Alonso Ruizpalacios. She added that she had been wanting to work with the Gueros filmmaker for a while:
“He wrote me this beautiful letter, and I read the script and watched all of his work and I really just wanted to make anything with him. The way he talked about how he wanted to make this film, it was just an experience I really wanted to have.”
Ruizpalacios noticed Mara a long time ago. It was over twelve years back, when he and his wife watched Mara’s strong performance in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Rooney Mara Leads in Gritty Tale of Immigrant Struggle in La Cocina
Director Alonso Ruizpalacios explored his own experiences to create La Cocina. The film offers a fast-paced glimpse into the lives, relationships, and disorder among migrant workers in a restaurant located in New York City’s Times Square.
Instead of showing the daily challenges of cooking in an upscale eatery, the film’s narrative dives into the tough experiences of immigrants struggling to make ends meet.
In the flick, Rooney Mara and Raúl Briones portray a couple trying to balance their relationship with the pressures of a demanding job at a busy restaurant.
La Cocina premiered at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2024.
