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May 19, 2025

A BITESIZE CHAT WITH

KATE MARA

In her career, Kate Mara has gone from the streets of Washington D.C. in House of Cards to the vacuums of outer space in The Martian. Now, she's taking on her toughest role yet: Tim Robinson's wife. I got the chance to catch-up with Mara and chat about her performance as Tami in Andrew DeYoung’s absurdist comedy Friendship.

BB: In this film you offer such an effective deadpan delivery, especially in contrast to Tim Robinson's very exaggerated humour. Was that difficult to work off of or did his zaniness help with your performance?



  • KM:  *laughs* No, it wasn't difficult, it was such a joy, just such a unique experience! I've never been in a movie like this. Really, it was all there in the script. It's not like there was tons of improv or anything to be surprised by, but every take Tim does is so different, every take. So, you just never know what you're gonna get, which is so fun. It's so fun to be able to be reacting to somebody in that way; keeps you on your toes. And he's so clever and interesting. It was just a really fun role to play.



BB: Since you mentioned improv, I know you said there wasn't a lot, but…



  • KM:  I should say there wasn't a lot in my scenes. Maybe there was for Tim and Paul. I actually don't know, cause I wasn't there for those. But the script was so strong, and a lot of it was there already. But I will say that our director (Andrew DeYoung) always sort of kept it going for like a little bit longer... like when the scene would end, he'd always keep it rolling just a little bit longer to see what would happen. And obviously there were definitely moments that were added and stuff like that, but for the most part it was very much there already, which is so nice.

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BB: Now, obviously the movie is very funny, but with your character Tami, we get glimpses of the fact that she survived cancer, hints about a difficult relationship with her father, and she's seemingly in an unhappy marriage. There’s clearly a tragic nature to her so how much of that played into the performance, even in the sillier moments?



  • KM:  Yeah, there’s so much. There are a lot of layers to the character and what she sort of has been through up until this moment and what they've been through. They've been together a long time. So there was a lot of story there that happened before this moment in their lives, which is always really useful to have all of these elements that you get to play with. Our director said at the beginning, before we started filming, “I want to film it like it's The Master, like it's like a drama.” And he really did, which is why it's so uniquely weird and hysterical.



BB: Certainly, and for a movie where the main focus is mostly on male insecurity and male friendships, I'm curious, when you were reading the script, where did you see your character fit into all that? What stood out to you?



  • KM:  I mean, the reason I wanted to do it is cause it's just a very different tone than anything I've ever been a part of. I felt like doing a comedy would definitely be a challenge, and it was, in specific ways, just cause I've never been in that world before. And working with such great comedians like Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, it's very intimidating being in that world when you're not used to that environment. So, that's why I wanted to do it. And I thought Tami was a really fun role. She's got things in there that are subtly, for an actor, really fun to play with.

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BB: She really holds everything together. But, before I go, I have to ask: What on earth do you think happened to Tami in that sewer?



  • KM:  *laughs* That is up to your imagination as an audience member. I love that we don't really ever tell you. That's the beauty of it, it could be whatever you think it is.



BB: Alright, I tried. *laughs* Well, it was nice meeting you today and best of luck on the film!



  • KM:  Thank you. Nice to meet you!



Make sure to check out Friendship now in theatres.


Interview conducted on May 9th, 2024 by Adriano Caporusso.

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