Kate Mara: ‘The kids and I live and breathe Arsenal – like it or not’

Kate Mara needs a phone charger – a portable one, preferably. Shopping for one of her group, the actress approaches me at the back of Claridge’s restaurant, a high-heeled barbell shouting down the marble floor. Introductions are made; hands move.

The character has a no-nonsense air about him that feels very New York. She grew up an hour north of the city, where she now lives with her husband, British actor Jamie Bell, and their three children. But beneath the demeanor and well-pressed white dress, Mara, 43, can be blunt in a way that will catch you off guard – a flash of disaster that makes you instantly endearing. He says: “It is still not accepted today by 90 percent,” he laughed. I’ll see something and ask, ‘How come I didn’t get that letter?’ And my agent will say, ‘We tried. They’re not interested.’”

For every “no” that Mara hears, there are many yeses as well. Her first big break came when she was 19, landing the role of Heath Ledger’s daughter Brokeback Mountain (2005). Then it happened House of Cardswhere his young ambitious reporter was pushed in front of a train by Kevin Spacey. Along the way, high-level project components like 24, 127 hours, The Martian, Iron Man 2and Encourage it made Mara a consistent and recognizable screen presence. Her signature red hair, which is now shoulder-length and parted in the middle, has helped with that.

His latest project, Apple TV+’s Imperfect womenit was big. The show stars Mara, Kerry Washington and Elisabeth Moss as its title’s three best friends, whose bond quickly unravels after one of them is killed. Mara plays Nancy, a charming girlfriend whose past and feelings threaten to ruin her perfect life.

As far as characters go, Nancy is a murky sap, coated like a small town laced with arsenic. It’s old Mara; as an actor, he works hard on the power of solid emotions. But it was the same opportunity to work with Washington and Moss that attracted him to the event. “Even two female leads are rare, so to have three is unheard of,” says Mara, “and now to have two of my favorite actors who have been acting for a long time, that’s a rare opportunity.”

The fact that they are all mothers was “a very bonding thing”, added Mara. I haven’t had so many experiences where I play and other actors have children, especially other women. The all-female executive team was a surprise, too. “I’ve been an actor since I was 14, and I think I worked with one female director in the first 20 years.”

There is a shadow of Nancy of Mara – the same drive that led her, as a teenager, to give up a place at the prestigious Tisch School of Performing Arts and instead move to Los Angeles alone, with only her Boston terrier for company. Mara says: “I was very confident. “At least in my dream. I don’t know if I thought, ‘This is going to happen to me’ – but I knew I was going to try, no matter what. I was very motivated and would have done anything to get there.

Back home in Bedford, close to where Martha Stewart lives, it wasn’t a gamer but sports that seemed to abound in Mara’s family. With the NFL crossover it sounds like a Netflix romcom project, his father and siblings own the New York Giants, while his mother’s side of the family owns the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I support both parties,” Mara says of politics. Her husband is on board with the whole American football thing. “Jamie lives and breathes the New York Giants – and the kids and I, like it or not, live and breathe Arsenal,” he laughs. “I feel like the era of English football is never ending!”

Mara and her sister Rooney, the most famous Carol and The girl with the Dragon tattoothey deliberately made a start to build their own little royal family – not a sporting one, mind you. Both live with other actors: Mara and Bell, Rooney and Joaquin Phoenix. Mara says: “I don’t think I can marry someone who is not an actor. It’s a special experience.”

Later this year, the sisters will star in their first film together. To Werner Herzog Bucking FastardThe siblings play identical twins whose brains are so messed up that they talk in unison and have the same dreams. They also love one man. Working together was completely comfortable. Mara says: “To be clear, I felt like I was at home. You have this shared history to take on. It’s impossible to do; it’s so deep, and there’s nothing like it. I can’t imagine doing that role with anyone else.”

I wouldn’t say there was ever any rivalry between us – I don’t think he would say that either

Mara by exploring the same roles as her sister Rooney

Mara and Rooney aren’t twins, but they have the natural first impressions that come from sharing a womb. Mara says: “It was funny, when we were filming, we would randomly match up to think of a number and not tell each other to see if we thought of the same number. And did they ever get it right? “Every time! I’m very scary.”

It took decades for the sisters to work together. In fact, finding the right time was more difficult than finding the right project. “We’ve been sent things that weren’t right over the years for a variety of reasons,” says Mara. “One of the main reasons is, you know, also, it’s rare that you get a script with two female characters, and they’re both great. We had to wait to find something with equal opportunities.”

Mara was 22 years old and a working actress when her sister followed her into the business. There was never a sense of competition, he insists. He says: “I was happy that he would be doing something similar to me. “I wouldn’t say that there was ever a rivalry between us – I don’t think he would say that either – but we wanted to play the same role, honestly. “Not always, but often enough.” However, there was never any bad blood. I felt that we were so different in so many ways that if one of us played a part, it would not make sense to the other person.

Talking to Mara, it’s clear that she was always going to be an actress – that her skills on screen are matched by a strong determination in it. He knew that any rejection he faced was part of the game. He says: “That would be a reality no matter what happens; I was always very confident in knowing that this is what I wanted to do the most. Indeed, it may hurt me, but my perspective has changed a lot over the years, and having children and a family, I have things that are more important to me and that inspire me in another way.

Next, Mara is eyeing Broadway – which has actually been her goal since her mother first took her and her sister to the theater as children. He says: “At the time I didn’t care about TV or movies, but I moved to LA and lived there for 22 years, so Broadway was not a possibility. “Now that I’ve moved to New York, I’ve realized that the dream is still there and still there. As for who he would like to work with, Irish writer Martin McDonagh comes to mind. If anyone can make it happen, it’s him; I wouldn’t be surprised to see a McDonagh-Mara charge in the next few years.

‘Imperfect Women is available to watch now on Apple TV+