Lots of new interviews being released today. First up, here’s a quick one from day 3 of Sundance at the red carpet premiere for Smashed. Head to the 2:35 mark to see Mary talking a little bit about the film:
Secondly, The Wrap also caught up with Mary and her Smashed co-star Aaron Paul, where the two talked about what it was like working on the film together:
And finally, The Playlist caught up with Mary to talk about Smashed and her small role in A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan. Be sure to read the full interview by clicking on the Playlist link above. Below are some highlights:
How did you get your head space to align with the character?
Well, I collaborated with James [Ponsoldt, the director] a lot. He was fantastic, and really wanted to help me figure it out. I’m used to figuring out things on my own, so it was nice. We had a couple of weeks leading up to the shoot, got together every day and we just talked about the character and about my life. We found through hours and hours of talking all of the ways that my life and Kate’s life match up, even though on the surface they seem nothing alike. Bringing as much of myself to her as I could, and the fact that James really wanted, that was really exciting for me. He really wanted for me to bring my problems and my faults and all of the things that were good about me and everything to it.
One of the big things I find fascinating about the role is the dynamic with your character and your AA sponsor and your fellow teacher, Nick Offerman’s character. How did you research that kind of thing? How did you get into the AA circle?
I was really lucky that the film was co-written by someone who is a recovering alcoholic and is in AA, also one of our producers is as well. So I was really welcomed into that world. I went to AA meetings with them, and saw lots of different kinds of meetings, and heard lots of different kinds of stories. It’s something that if I hadn’t gone with them, I don’t know if I would have gone, because I would have felt like a fraud coming in and listening in on these people’s really personal stories. They assured me that it was fine, and I was welcome there. There’s a lot of young women in the meetings that I went to, and some that I totally related to and were talking about things that were totally similar to things in my life, and you kind of realize how an alcoholic is not so far different then yourself. That’s what we wanted to do in the film, make it relatable.
You’re working with Roman Coppola on his new film?
I did, yes, a few months ago.
He’s only made one feature [2001’s “CQ”] and it’s a knockout, but what’s the movie like? How would you describe it?
I spent a few days on it, it’s such a tiny part, but it’s such a great group of people that I would have done anything on this film. He’s really close to Jason Schwartzman, who’s a friend of mine, and Aubrey Plaza, and we all kind of just did it because we’re friends and we wanted to work together. So I can’t say that I know a lot about how the film’s going to turn out, because I didn’t see a lot of it, but it’s a crazy imaginative script. It kind of felt like being on a movie set in the ’70s, it had that vibe. He kind of keeps things really fun and exciting. People dressed up in different costumes on the beach, and things that felt really surreal and fun, and I’m excited to see how it turns out.
Did you work with Charlie Sheen in that movie?
A little. My part is very small. I have a small exchange with Charlie. But most of my stuff was with Kathryn Winnick. He was great, though, totally what I would imagine him to be like throughout his career. Just like a really cool, suave, confident guy. And he was really fun to work with and really professional.
