Rooney Mara ‘learned pretty early’ to choose projects based on the director

Actress Rooney Mara says some “bad experiences” made her choose projects based on the director. “I really go by the director. I learned that pretty early,” Rooney said, when asked about her process for selecting films, reports variety.com. Rooney was having a conversation at the Berlin Film Festival press conference for her new film ‘La Cocina’.

“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.”

Rooney stars in ‘La Cocina’, directed and written by Alonso Ruizpalacios, which follows the staff of a New York City restaurant as their kitchen descends into chaos. Ruizpalacios was on hand on Friday for the press conference, in addition to actors Raul Briones Carmona and Anna Diaz and producer Ramiro Ruiz.

Of joining the film, Rooney said she had been wanting to work with Ruizpalacios 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,” Rooney said.

“The way he talked about how he wanted to make this film, it was just an experience I really wanted to have.”

Ruizpalacios had his eye on Rooney for even longer ever since he and his wife went to the movies to see ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’, years ago. The movie trip also helped in inspiring a tense scene in the film where the restaurant’s cherry coke machine breaks, flooding the kitchen.

Rooney Mara is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Born into the Rooney and Mara families, Mara began her career acting in television and independent films, such as the coming-of-age drama Tanner Hall (2009). She first gained recognition for her supporting role in David Fincher’s drama film The Social Network (2010).

Mara had a career breakthrough when she starred as Lisbeth Salander in Fincher’s thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), which earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Her career progressed with leading roles in the thriller Side Effects (2013), the science fiction romance Her (2013), and the romantic drama Carol (2015), all of which were critical and commercial successes. For the latter, she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She has since appeared in the biographical drama Lion (2016), the supernatural drama A Ghost Story (2017), and portrayed Mary Magdalene in the biblical drama Mary Magdalene (2018). Following a brief hiatus, Mara gained praise for her roles in the psychological thriller Nightmare Alley (2021) and the drama Women Talking (2022).

Agencies