Kate Mara On Her Inspiring Animal Advocacy, Her Incredible Career and Her Newest Project ‘A Teacher’
A Special Note: This shoot was unique in many ways, first, Kate was photographed by me virtually with an iPhone—she was in LA, I was in New York. Plus, this shoot was sustainable in a way—a focus for R&I—because Kate pulled clothes from her closet.
Hair by Mara Roszak; makeup by Lucy Halpern
I think the moment that I really felt a responsibility and a desire to do something was when I watched the documentary Black Fish. I was so moved by it. I reached out to the filmmakers on Twitter and asked if there was anything I could do to help the cause or whatever I could do, I was here. They responded and said, we would love your support. I ended up teaming up with them and then the Humane Society and then through that I became friends with the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite who I also worked with on a movie called Megan Leavey. Basically, it was that film, Black Fish, that got me involved with different organizations. My relationship with the Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue came through all that as well. That documentary opened up all of these doors and my mind in a lot of ways.
It is really hard to choose, this sounds so cheesy but where is your heart pulling you towards and what is it telling you and your instincts? One of my best friends is an animal activist, her name is Michelle and she is involved in a lot of different things. She is the person I turn to ask advice and to learn about different movements. She is the reason that my sister Rooney and I were invited to go to Liberia and to be a part of raising awareness and money for these abandoned chimps. It’s been years but we have become very good friends with this incredible married couple, Jim and Jenny Desmond, who are from the States who just moved there. They uplifted their lives and moved to Liberia and they just live with a bunch of chimpanzees, who they are the parents to—it could be about 30 babies at a time. I don’t know if you know this but a chimpanzee is very, very similar to us, so when they are babies they need to be on their mom at all times. My friends are basically living in their home surrounded by baby chimps. They have seven of them on them at a time. They are just trying to save these little orphans from the bushmeat trade and being pets, which is illegal.
So my sister and I had the privilege of going there years ago and we were just immediately hooked. The experience to be up close with these incredible beings is unlike anything I have ever experienced. We have been lucky enough to go back a few times and every time is more magical than the next. You know, we shouldn’t be able to cuddle a chimpanzee because they shouldn’t be near us, they shouldn’t be torn from their families. While it’s beautiful and it’s this magical thing that we are able to feed them and nurture them, we shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. So, it’s a very bittersweet thing and my sister and I are just both completely dedicated to helping the sanctuary there and to help it thrive and grow.
Note: You can get involved too with the Liberia Chimpanzee Rescue & Protection by adopting a chimp for $50, which will provide food, shelter and veterinary care.
I think being able to see firsthand how full of love, life, and how similar we are—I am specifically talking about chimpanzees right now. When I was pregnant with my daughter, there was a chimp that me, my friend Michelle and my sister had spent time with the last time we were there; he had grown a lot and was very big at this point. He saw us from across the way and he saw Michelle and he remembered her. He ran over to her and hugged her, like a human would. It was heartbreaking and beautiful because he was thriving and all of these things. I just thought, if people could have these types of experiences, not just with chimps but with animals in general, then I think that people would look at the way we eat and they would consume very differently.
I think vegans definitely get a bad rap for sure, we are definitely thought of as the weird ones. But if you really think about it, who is weird, the person who says we probably shouldn’t murder things for our enjoyment—it genuinely baffles me. I live in a family, where my husband isn’t a vegan, he sometimes chooses to eat meat and that’s his decision. He also supports me in a lot of ways; I think he struggles with it mentally and I don’t know where he will end up but again it’s his choice. It doesn’t mean because I am a vegan I hate people who are not, I married someone who is not (laughs)—I am madly in love with someone who is not. We can all co-exist and be respectful of each other’s choices. I just think a lot of people make choices without the thoughtfulness before they make them.
In my mind there is no difference between a dog, cow, or pig. Why is it that to eat our dogs would be unheard of and unethical but to eat a cow or a pig is fine? Obviously, everyone has their own beliefs and most of us have been brought up a certain way to think that cats and dogs are pets and we treat them with love and as family but all other animals are a different thing for some reason. I feel lucky enough that I can raise my kids in a different way and look at all animals as the same. To me animal rights are human rights, there is no difference. It’s an interesting thing and I think it’s because as a society that is the way that we are brought up and it’s the way that we are taught to think.
I think the choice really depends on what’s going on in your life. I think what opportunities you may have or may not have as an actor, is one of the reasons that I started looking for more things to produce. We only have so many options and so many choices with the roles we are offered. Some of that is luck and some of that is cultivated. I was lucky enough to be asked to be a producer and an actor on A Teacher. It was something I was passionate about and couldn’t wait to play. It’s a complicated subject matter and it’s controversial but I think it’s important that controversial things are made and talked about. They aren’t things that I shy away from typically—I think that being a parent now makes me and my husband look at the roles we take a little differently. Again, being a parent means you have to provide for your family so there is more pressure. On one hand, you want to work on things that are meaningful and worthy, and then on the other hand you just have to go to work, to work. It really depends on the situation.
I was one of those very fortunate people who always knew what they wanted to do and never questioned it. I feel really lucky that I always had that drive and had that passion for acting because it can be so hard. I had friends who really struggled for a while with what they wanted to do, or what they should do, but since I was nine, I knew I wanted to be an actor. It didn’t matter to me what anyone else in my family was doing, I just had my eyes on the prize (laughs). I started acting when I was nine, by doing community theater, and then professionally when I was 14.
That’s a good question, I feel like when I was young, I was confident for other reasons. I was confident because I didn’t know any better—I just loved pretending to be other people. So, you know, I was more confident in playing a part than being myself. As I have gotten older, I am definitely a more confident person and know who I am but you know, like anybody I have my ups and downs of being confident and not. I think as a kid, you are sometimes blissfully unaware and I think that can be a good thing.
So I was involved with this before there was a script. I knew what the intent was because Hannah Fidell pitched me the idea. She had already made the independent movie with the same title years before, so I had already seen that. I knew what kind of filmmaker she was and I knew what kind of show this was going to be. I didn’t need to read a script because I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I was excited that the show was going to be multi-dimensional, and an exploration of power dynamics and consent; I liked that we were going to focus on the consequences of this teacher/student relationship and not just on the beginning aspects of it, but also on the after-effects of it, like what happens to their lives and everyone surrounding them. I was excited about that.
It’s more fulfilling to produce and star because you have more creative control and when you are working on something from the ground up there is a lot more fulfillment when you get it made. It’s so hard to get anything made these days. I want to do both but again there is something very nice about being an actor for hire, when you get called and they say, we are shooting in a month and you don’t have to do anything except act in it. I am definitely still all for that but it’s definitely very fulfilling to produce something.
We started working on it like five or six years ago when Hannah called me and asked if I would be interested in working with her and to produce and star in it. We had to pitch it to different studios and that took a while. Then we got on board with FX, then it was another year and a half until they gave us the green light and when they did, I happened to be eight months pregnant with my daughter. When my daughter was just under three months old was when we started shooting.
That word doesn’t really feel relevant to me, if that makes any sense. I have a pretty normal life with my husband and kids and before I had kids. It was just a normal life, I just had to have this unique job where sometimes, not even that often (laughs) people recognize you. Or they recognize you for someone that you are not (laughs) that’s funny. I don’t feel it’s a struggle because I don't think it’s something that I have to really deal with on a daily basis.
It’s only changed for the positive. My life changed when I became a stepmom—my stepson is seven now— but when he came into my life five years ago, my life changed, but not in a dramatic way. I have always sort of been a homebody. My husband is always joking that I would go to bed at nine if I had kids or not (laughs) and I wake up early. I grew up with a huge family so kids have always been a huge part of my life. My life changed when I met my husband and his son. When we had our daughter, first of all, it kind of felt like she was always with us, not that much changed from one to two. We just got a lot more love to go around for all of us. The lack of sleep is a pain in the ass for sure (laughs) but other than that it’s more laughs and love.
Especially during this time, since covid started, and we have all been stuck inside, the main thing that I know about my life is that I have to find time to work out or be physical in some way. That’s my version of meditation and if I don’t find it that really affects me and then it affects everyone around you, so that is my biggest thing and feel is really important to my mental health. To find time to exercise because for me it really is a meditation.
