Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her acting debut on stage in London in the Kevin Elyot play Forty Winks in 2004. Mulligan's feature film debut was as Kitty Bennet in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride & Prejudice. Mulligan had early roles on British television in such programs as Bleak House, and Doctor Who. In 2008, Mulligan made her Broadway debut in a revival of Chekhov's The Seagull to critical acclaim...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth28 May 1985
CityLondon, England
I was quite straight-laced. I was quite academic until I was about 14 and then I went to boarding school where I had the opportunity to continue to be very academic, but got less interested in it and became more involved in acting. And then when I was applying for universities I used a couple of places on my UCAS form to apply for drama school without telling anyone... but didn't get into drama school. But that was the most rebellious thing I did
I did The Seagull, the Chekhov play, on Broadway, a couple of years ago, and I had done it in London, and I became completely obsessed with the character, Nina, that I played in that. She's an actress. I couldn't find a play after that, that I wanted to do, because I couldn't think of doing anything else. Every part is a disappointment, once you've done that part.
I'd like to do a play, but I can't find the right thing. I don't want it to be a starring role. I just want to play a really interesting character.
I wanted to be a musical theatre actress - I wanted to play Sally Bowles, forever and ever always.
It makes it easier, if you can't do an American accent. I don't know. It's different. I played a character in Never Let Me Go where the script for my character was very sparse, and I enjoyed it. With Never Let Me Go, I had a whole book written from my character's point of view, so I always knew where I was. But, with Ryan [Gosling], it was just easy. He's such a brilliant actor and he is so prepared. He doesn't have to warm himself up to be in a scene. He's just in it. It draws you in, in a way.
I did Wall Street, and then everything that happened with An Education took me up until March. I didn't want to work during that because there was just so much stuff. I didn't realize you had to go to so many parties. It was a nightmare! I had to go to all these parties! The glamour!
I was trying to find ways of not being pigeon-holed like that. I didn't want to be tied down by my accent. I wanted to play Americans. I don't want to ever be doing the same thing twice, and I just didn't want to repeat myself.
I didn't want to do a costume drama. It's a great thing to do, but I've done them, and I didn't want to do the same thing again. Of course, costume dramas can be from all different eras, but at the time, I just felt very sure that I didn't want to be boxed in as an English actress. I wanted to be an actress, rather than an English actress.
I've always been quite careful about what I wanted to do. I've just never wanted to revisit old ground or do something that's easy. I want to do something that I would look at and go, "I don't know what to do!" The most exciting thing is when you're a bit scared, so I'm looking to find something that's really terrifying.
Remakes are a difficult thing 'cause some people feel very protective of the original.
When you start playing a character every day for seven weeks, it suddenly starts becoming easier
There's always the things that you think are going to be tough. I've been nude once, and I was like, "Oh, that's going to be a nightmare," and actually that was fine.
I can change my appearance quite easily just by changing my hair. So I can adapt quite well.