Carey Mulligan loves playing "unlikeable" characters.
The 33-year-old actress is causing a stir with her latest performance in ‘Wildlife’ in which she plays an unsympathetic 1960s wife and mother but Carey believes the negative aspects of her character make her more realistic.
Carey character Jeanette Brinson is a woman who struggles to cope when her husband Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) leaves to fight a forest fire and she takes comfort in another man.
She told The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘Awards Chatter’ podcast: "I kind of lean into the unlikable things. Because we all have slightly crap aspects to our personality, as much as we try and pretend that we don’t, and that’s what makes us real human beings. So I didn’t really think about whether Jeanette was likable or not. I suppose that’s why it came as quite a shock when people started shouting at me in Q&As!"
‘Wildlife’ has been directed by fellow actor Paul Dano and Carey loved being directed by an actor because she believes Paul brought out something special in her performance.
She explained: "I’ve worked with lots of directors who are really intuitive and thoughtful about acting but I think Paul could see [things that others couldn’t]. What Paul was really good at was identifying when I was holding back a bit, because I will always kind of lean towards restraint and do less, and he was really good at finding those moments and encouraging me to do more."
Carey Mulligan’s ‘unlikeable’ character
