New York Film Academy (NYFA) recently had the honor of hosting a live video Q&A with award-winning actress Carey Mulligan to discuss her career with NYFA students and alums. Tova Laiter, director of the NYFA Q&A-list series, moderated the event.

Two-time Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan began her acting career in a film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. Although she had expressed an interest in acting during her teenage years while attending an all-girls school in the British countryside, Mulligan’s parents insisted that she was not meant to become an actress. During a hiatus from school at age 18, Mulligan applied to several prestigious drama schools in London, but unfortunately, none accepted her. However, a dinner with Julian Fellowes would change her career trajectory.

Mulligan had first met Fellowes while she was still in school. Following her rejection from drama schools, she wrote a letter to him, asking Fellowes, “What’s your advice to someone who’s been rejected from all the drama schools?” Fortunately, Fellowes received the letter, and shortly thereafter, he and his wife hosted a dinner for Mulligan and eight to ten of her peers at a restaurant in London. 

Here, the couple shared that a new film version of Pride and Prejudice (2005) was about to begin production. Mr. and Mrs. Fellowes told Mulligan that the film’s producers were looking for up-and-coming actors “who [hadn’t] necessarily acted much before” and thus would be making their film debuts if selected to appear. Mulligan auditioned and subsequently landed a role, marking her first on-screen appearance. She later went on to star in films such as An Education (2009), Suffragette (2015), Wildlife (2018), Promising Young Woman (2020), She Said (2022), and others. 

Laiter noted that both of Mulligan’s Academy Award nominations (Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Promising Young Woman and An Education) were for films directed by women. She continued that it is quite rare at that time, for female directors to receive such nominations and for actors to have faith in women directors. Mulligan responded that if actors were to receive a script from a female director, there would be “about five more hoops to jump through, at least” than if the director were a man. Therefore, Mulligan has taken films directed by women more seriously, claiming that “the standards have to be higher” for female directors than their male counterparts. 

Mulligan also commented that she was delighted to work on films like Promising Young Woman, calling the production process “a really wonderful kind of collaborative experience” for her. Mulligan described the script for Promising Young Woman as risky, noting that if the film’s direction were in the wrong hands, it would have spelled disaster. Fortunately, after striking up a conversation with the film’s director Emerald Fennell (The Crown, Call the Midwife), Mulligan knew she was in good hands. Mulligan described Fennell as “one in a million” and said “that she could deliver a bold, powerful movie.” 

Then, Mulligan shared how she adds her own personal touch to characters based on real-life individuals, describing the process she went through to portray her character Megan in She Said (2022). Including painstakingly trying to emulate her pattern of speech. Although she wanted to know as much as possible about each character’s specific behaviors and mannerisms, Mulligan’s main approach was to distill the essence of her character, Megan. She frequently asked herself, “How can I portray her as safely as possible without trying to mimic her]?” 

During the student Q&A portion of the conversation, Mulligan answered a variety of questions from NYFA students. One student, Lily, praised Mulligan for her performance in Promising Young Woman before asking her about crucial next steps to eliminate sexism in the film industry. Mulligan replied by expressing her hope “that [she] would look around [a film set] and see things the way they should and should have always been,” without any distortion. She said that films produced and released in the past year had shown a “remarkable array of female characters, female directors,” However, Mulligan commented that “baby steps are happening” to combat sexism in the film industry and that this approach must “start with the right people being given opportunities at a very early level,” namely at the start of their careers. 

Mulligan answered another question from NYFA Los Angeles student Fatima, who also praised Mulligan’s performance in Promising Young Woman before asking Mulligan how best to prepare for auditions. Mulligan said that she can often tell that audition scenes “go to nothing” despite her best efforts. She pointed out that although she would be privileged to be offered the audition for a given scene, Mulligan treated every scene she filmed as an audition. 

Mulligan described herself as a perfectionist on set, claiming she needed to get everything right on day one of filming. Recalling her recent experiences filming Promising Young Woman, Mulligan hated every single take for a scene, becoming so frustrated that she broke down emotionally. She continued that her character was placing her life on the line to seek revenge and serve justice, the stakes of which – like auditioning and shooting the film itself – cannot be underestimated. In short, Mulligan’s experiences demonstrate the importance of preparing well for every audition and applying that same mindset during filming.

Another student at NYFA Los Angeles asked Mulligan about her approach to character, namely the first steps she takes after reading a script for the first time. Mulligan replied that it varies from one film to the next. For example, Mulligan appeared in the film Wildlife, where the director and co-stars were old friends, her preparation simply involved flying to Montana to begin filming. On the other hand, Mulligan and Bradley Cooper recently costarred in the Netflix biopic Maestro (2022) about famous composer Leonard Bernstein. To prepare for this film, Mulligan and Cooper traveled to Philadelphia and co-narrated one of Bernstein’s operas to better understand his works. In short, Mulligan reiterated that her preparation varied with each film. 

Once Mulligan had answered questions from a few additional students, Laiter mentioned that Mulligan’s husband is a successful musician and asked whether Mulligan OR her husband had more fun with their job. Mulligan laughed and declared that her husband has a way more fun job but also that she could never become a musician herself. She recalled attempting to sing on stage during a performance with the Coen brothers, only to fail miserably. Mulligan called the experience “the worst five minutes of my life,” stating that she would not attempt to sing even if offered substantial sums of money. 

Laiter closed the conversation by thanking Carey Mulligan for the discussion and the students for their time.  New York Film Academy would like to thank Carey for sharing her time and experience with NYFA students, faculty, and alumni.