Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina tell stories about relationships in 'An Education'

Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina at the New York City press junket for "An Education"

Carey Mulligan is ready for her closeup in the movies, but is she ready for her first Oscar nomination? The British actress has been getting a lot of buzz for her luminous performance in the drama "An Education," in which she plays a studious, 1961 suburban London teenager named Jenny, who starts to see life differently after she gets romantically involved with a much-older man named David (played by Peter Sarsgaard). Jenny’s parents, Jack and Marjorie (played by Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour), are initially suspicious of Jenny’s older suitor, but the seemingly well-to-do David eventually wins them over, even though David may have less-than-virtuous intentions for Jenny, who is 16 and about to turn 17.

As Jenny becomes more entangled in the relationship with David, her dreams of going to Oxford University start to fade, and she eventually has to make a choice that will change her life forever. "An Education" (whose screenplay was written by Nick Hornby) is based on Lynn Barber’s memoir of the same title. The film has been getting rave reviews ever since its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ("An Education" has since screened at other events, including the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2009 Telluride Film Festival.) Most insiders are predicting that best actress won’t be the only nomination that "An Education" will get during awards-show season.

For now, Mulligan is just taking it in stride and not trying to think too much about getting so much praise for what is essentially her first leading role in a movie. When I sat down with her and Molina at the New York City press junket for "An Education," there was a great dynamic between the two: one a respected veteran, the other an intriguing up-and-comer — both with unquestionable talent. Here’s what Mulligan and Molina had to say about being in the tabloids; the hot-button issue of teenagers dating adults; and why their "An Education" co-star Emma Thompson (who plays the headmistress at Jenny’s school) made an unforgettable impression on them, even though Thompson worked only one day on the movie’s set.

[SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains a few spoilers. If you don’t want to know about the spoilers, than skip reading the parts of this interview where the spoiler alert is indicated.]

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

At some point, every actor who starts young has to decide whether to continue with his or her education and possibly go to drama school or to skip college and get life experience. And there are some people who think actors with a formal education are better actors. What’s your perspective on that?

Mulligan: I didn’t get into drama school. I did try.

Molina: [He says jokingly] You’re one of those!

Mulligan: [She laughs sheepishly] I’m sorry! I would’ve love to have done it [go to drama school]. We drove past Juilliard earlier, and I still went [she gives a wistful sigh]. I would’ve loved to, but I didn’t, so I had to find another way in. So I ended you finding another way.

But I think, "To each his own" for that sort of thing. I think some people hugely benefit from going [to college or drama school], and some people don’t. I would’ve loved to have gone, because it would’ve given me more confidence to do things onstage, and I’d feel a little bit more qualified sometimes.

But I kind of spent time, since I’ve started [acting], watching people around me and how they do it, and figuring out how I want to work by watching other people work. I’ve been lucky with people who’ve been really generous as well. I haven’t just watched them; they’ve kind of helped me.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Molina: I had three fantastic years at drama school. I went to the Guildhall School in London which, at the time, was one of the top classical schools. I had a great, great three years. I loved it! I had three years of doing what I love doing most, which is talking, thinking, eating, sleeping plays and acting.

Having said that, it made not an ounce of difference, in terms of how I got work or whether I got work. I was never asked once in any interview or audition, "Tell me, Alfred, where did you train?" It never came up. I’ve been acting for 35 years and not once [was it mentioned], except out of curiosity. If someone said, "Oh, my daughter’s in drama school. Which one did you go to?" And it turns out it wasn’t the same one. And that was the end of the conversation. No, I’m being flippant.

But the truth is, as Carey said, it’s beneficial for some people. It’s no matter for others. I don’t think you can learn how to act. I think all that training gives you is it perhaps might give you the knack of learning to think twice.

Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard in "An Education"

A man being with a woman who’s young enough to be his daughter is a touchy subject for a lot of people. What’s your opinion about those kinds of relationships?

[SPOILER ALERT]

Molina: I’m not qualified to talk about that, because I married an older woman. I was in my 30s when I married her. We met and fell in love. I don’t think age has anything to do with it. I think when the law is broken, that’s a whole other issue. I don’t think this movie is really about that. I think Peter [Sarsgaard] put it very nicely when he said that the movie is less about an older man falling in love with a 16-year-old girl than it is about a man trying to rediscover what it’s like to be 16.

Someone said to me, "Isn’t it the film where the guy has sex with a 16-year-old girl?" Well, actually, no; because they don’t. They don’t have sex [when she’s 16]. They get close but something else happens. But whether audiences have a problem with [the age difference between David and Jenny], it may be a cultural thing.

Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard in "An Education"

Mulligan: It really varies from city to city, because I’ve been to Australia with ["An Education"] and here [in New York City]. We’ve shown [the movie] in Telluride [in Colorado] and Toronto and Germany … It just various wherever you go. I don’t think [David] is portrayed as a sexual person and certainly not as a predator.

Lone [Scherfig, the director of "An Education"] stressed this all the way through the film: Jenny should be the one who drives that side of the relationship. If you watch, you’ll notice that she leans in for the first kiss, she wants to wait [to lose her virginity to David] until she’s 17. That means she would give everything to him, because they’re going to be together.

In Paris [where David and Jenny go on a trip together], when we’re sting on the island and there’s the sunset behind us, Lone had me stroke his back. [Jenny’s] constantly driving that [sexual] side of things. He presents her with a banana before he … He’d do anything not to [take her virginity then]. And I think there’s just an endearing quality to him, in that he’s just never been comfortable in a room in his life. He’s just trying to find a room where he feels at home. I think he finds that in [Jenny’s] house.

[END OF SPOILER ALERT]

Alfred Molina in "An Education"

What inspired you to make your father-daughter relationship so believable? And can you talk about how the scene with Jack and Jenny talk through door when their relationship becomes strained?

Molina: It’s interesting that you bring that up. Carey and I got on very, very well over filming. Lots of giggles, lots of laughing, a lot of joking around. We were doing scenes around the table; we found a lot of common ground. The day we shot that scene, we didn’t say a word to each other outside the scene. We didn’t hang out, we didn’t talk, we didn’t have cups of tea.

All the rapport, all the chit-chat, all the fun we were having [was gone], not deliberately. It wasn’t like, "I think it would be better if we didn’t communicate today" — it would be like if we were doing this at drama school. It just happened; it was really strange. But that whole day, we didn’t talk. Something takes over in a funny sort of way. The energy that the scene needed was being encouraged somehow. I was aware of it at the end of the day.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Mulligan: Because it was the last day.

Molina: It was my last day [of filming "A Education"].

Mulligan: And I didn’t get to hug you.

Molina: A weird alchemy happens. I’m tempted to say "chemistry," but that’s too scientific. It’s an odd energy that takes over, and I think it works.

Mulligan: And it happens a lot. You don’t ever really sit down and plan things. That happens a lot in things, in plays, in any kind of job you’re doing. Sometimes you just distance yourself without really knowing it. Or you go the other way. It varies.

Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of "An Education"

Carey, you and Peter Sarsgaard also worked together in the Broadway production of "The Seagull." Can you talk about that?

Mulligan: We did "An Education" first. It’s always nice going into a job with a friend. Also, we had two weeks to rehearse "The Seagull," and we hadn’t done it in 18 months. So Peter had to come in and take over the role and put on a British accent again. It was great.

We’ve become so close. He feels like a brother to me now. But also, I think Peter taught me a lot when we were working in the first place. I was probably much more of a nervous actor before I worked with him. In fact, on this film in general, I was around a lot of actors like that [who helped me]. I was much more scared of being a bad actress or doing something stupid …

Molina: Really? I was always commenting about how relaxed you seemed.

Mulligan: Really? Thanks!

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Carey, you play Michael Douglas’s daughter in "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps." What has that experience been like?

Mulligan: I’ve had very little to do with Michael so far. We’ve rehearsed a little bit for a few days. I haven’t shot a scene with him yet. I hope that it will be lovely.

Molina: He’s a nice guy. He’s very nice.

Mulligan: He’s lovely. He’s really lovely. But all my stuff is being saved for last, so I can concentrate on [another] film.

Alfred Molina and Cara Seymour in "An Education"

Alfred, what’s your approach when you have to play a father to a daughter?

Molina: [He says jokingly] Whenever I play a father to a daughter, I always give the actress lots of money, pay for her education, stay up all night and wonder where the hell she is. I find that very helpful, but that’s just my way of working, my preference.

Mulligan: He’s the most constantly working actor in the universe, and you get him for very small concentrations. You jet in, stun everybody, and then leave again. We didn’t have a huge amount of time; none of us did. Peter and I only had four days [before shooting of the movie started].

Molina: I think it’s that alchemy thing again. It’s a strange way to live your life, and it’s a strange job to have. There’s no doubt about it. So what happens is you create the environment that’s required. And everyone knows it’s fake. Everyone who’s implicit in the contract knows this isn’t the real thing. But for the time and space that it occupies, Carey was my daughter and I was her dad, for better or for worse.

That’s what you create: You create a kind of fantasy. And you create something, as fake as it is, hopefully doesn’t have to be real, it just merely has to be authentic — and authentic enough that the audience will relax and go, "OK, I’ll buy that. Alfred Molina is Carey Mulligan’s father. I’ll buy that for the two hours that I’m sitting here." That’s really that is going on.

And if you’re fortunate, you have actors who are willing to jump into that game as you are. We were very lucky that was the case here. There was a group of actors that were together for a very limited amount of time, given the amount of time that some films can take, and we all just dived in. There was a certain amount of luck involved in that. It tends to happen. It tends to be the way it goes.

Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard in "An Education"

"An Education" is about how one person can change the direction of your life. When you were 16 or 17 years old, did you have anyone who was such a major influence on you that your life changed because of that person?

Mulligan: I didn’t. But in a way, Julian Fellowes was the way I ended up getting into [acting]. He was sort of my route in after I didn’t get into drama school. And I met him when I was 17. But I didn’t have a boyfriend until I was 19. I was nowhere near as [mature] as Jenny was [when I was her age].

When I applied to drama school, I used up quite a few spaces in my university application which gives less university places. And I lied about it, and I didn’t tell my parents. I spent about 10 months lying, saying I had applied to all these universities, and I hadn’t heard anything yet. I was making up false trips to Leeds. "Oh, I’m going to Leeds for the day." And I’d go to London, because I had them believe I was still on this university thing.

Molina: You are like Jenny! [He laughs.]

Mulligan: It was a little bit like Jenny. But then I got found out. And now, in England, when you apply to university, you can have it online. The data comes in faster over whether you have or haven’t got a place. At one point, my lies got all confused, and my mum just said, "I’m just going to go online." And I said, "Go for it!" And I literally went downstairs, went out the front door and just walked and just didn’t come back for about three hours, because I knew I was busted. That was just one of those horrible, horrible things where your parents are disappointed in you. So that happened to me when I was 17.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Carey, your name keeps coming up when people talk about nominations for best actress, for your role in "An Education." Are you getting any advice from anyone on how to deal with the Oscar race and other awards shows?

Mulligan: No. Before Sundance, I’d never been to a film festival. I’d never played the lead in a film. I actually thought ["An Education"] wouldn’t get bought. And when it did, that was pretty much all I could ask for. If [an Oscar nomination] means more people will see the film, then I think it’s a brilliant, positive thing. I can’t describe how strange it is to hear [Oscar talk]. That’s why I bleep it out.

Alfred, going back to the question about anyone who influenced you when you were 16 or 17, did you have anyone like that in your life?

Molina: I had someone very specific, actually. I was very fortunate. I went to a very conservative school. It was a parochial, Roman Catholic school, and it was in the middle of a not-very-good area. But the day I started that school, when I was 11, a guy named Martyn Corbett … joined the English department, and he was my English teacher right from my first day at school to the day I left.

When I was about 12, he started a drama club, and it was an extracurricular thing. And all the geeky, nerdy kids like me who weren’t good at sports and who academically weren’t high fliers, who weren’t popular with the girls’ school next door, we all ended up in the drama club. And three of us actually suddenly went, "This is it!" And the three of us went on to become actors, although I’m the only one now who’s still acting …

Alfred Molina, Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard and Dominic Cooper at the New York City premiere of "An Education"

And Martyn was the first person in my life, when I was 13 or 14, when I had the courage to say what was on my mind — "Excuse me, sir, but I want to be an actor" — he was the first person to actually take me seriously. And he said, "Well, OK. If that’s what you want to do, you’ve got to do this, this and this. You’ve got to read this, this and this. You’ve got to start thinking of this, this and this. And if you let me down, if you drop the ball at any point, I’m going to give up on you." And it was what I needed.

I can remember the feeling when he gave me all these plays to read. And how he just laid it out about how hard it can be. And I remember the feeling. It was like stepping into a beautiful, hot bath. I owe him everything, actually. He coached me when I applied for drama school. He coached me when I applied for the National Youth Theatre. I was denied a grant to go to drama school, and he wrote letters to the local MP [Member of Parliament] and the local educational board to say, "You’ve got to give this kid a grant. He’s serious. He’s committed." He was fantastic. And we’re still friends.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Alfred, you have a scene in "An Education" in which your Jack character says, "Being a great writer isn’t the same as knowing one" …

Molina: It’s a great line. And it’s true!

Have you ever encountered that attitude in the acting world?

Molina: Oh yeah! I’ve actually got a favorite. The first time I went to Hollywood, when I was still living in England, before I moved to America. I went for this screen test and I met this casting director, whose name mercifully escapes me. He came away with two beautiful things that I kept and I thought, "One day, I’m going to do a one-man show [and use these lines]."

He said, "You know, you English actors, you’ve got a problem. You come over here and you think show business is one word. It’s not. It’s show and business — and not necessarily in that order!"

And the other thing he said was, "You know, Alfred, you’ve got a face. It ain’t no 8x10 glossy, but it’s a face!" And he was serious. He wasn’t joking. And I remember thinking, "What the f*ck?" But he wasn’t typical, I have to say in all fairness. He was not typical. But you hear that stuff all the time.

I remember I once turned down a job, and an agent said he thought I was mad [crazy]. "Are you kidding me?" I said, "I’m sorry but I just don’t feel it. I can’t relate to this material." He said, "Alfred, you’re in danger of becoming the architect of your own obliviality!"

Did you ever see these people again?

Molina: No. [He says jokingly] I send them Christmas cards. I like to keep in touch, but they never call back.

Emma Thompson, Ellie Kendrick, Amanda Fairbank-Hynes and Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

What was the best thing about working with Emma Thompson?

Mulligan: Oh, man! Everything is great. I’ve held her up quite high since I was 10. We shot everything [with her for "An Education"] in one day. You just walk into a room with someone like that and you just know you don’t want to be the weak link. It was exciting and nerve-racking, which was probably useful for most of it. And she’s so completely normal. She knew the first names of everyone in the crew by 11 in the morning.

And there’s a scene where she’s writing stuff. She takes her work very seriously, but she was writing these things as she was talking to me and delivering these lines. It was so cool. And then every time she handed over the pieces of paper, the prop guys were breaking down. And it was because she was writing really obscene things on every piece of paper, like really dirty.

[Laughter]

Like I never read them, but it was awesome. It was the best day. It was one of my favorite days of the whole shoot. We ran over at the end of the day, because we had to shoot these [scenes] in one day, and she ordered pizza for the crew, wine, beer. And she was there for a day! You [usually] do that when you’re there for the whole shoot. She’s just lovely. She’s proper class.

Molina: She’s quite lovely.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Carey, how are you handling all the attention you’re getting for "An Education"? How has your life changed so far?

Mulligan: My career has probably changed, and that’s what’s been wonderful. From Sundance to people seeing ["An Education"], even on copies on DVD, it’s been great. It’s been great, because it’s been like a mini-audition.

I’ve spent the last five years not being enough of a name to even get into a room to meet the person [deciding who will get the job] … so it’s nice when it gets slightly easier. There are parts that you know you do, but you have no access to them, because they go through a list of 10 actresses before they even [consider] auditions [for anyone else] …

But I’ve been really lucky. I’ve always worked steadily. I hope that I would’ve worked anyway after ["An Education" premiered at] Sundance, even if the film had not been [sold]. I’ve gotten cool opportunities.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

How did you get the role in "An Education"?

Mulligan: I‘d always played younger parts of myself. That was my age bracket. They saw lots and lot of girls [for the role]. I’d done fairly big things on TV … It was an audition process. I went in three times …

It was an advantage for me: I can look younger and have a few years more of experience than the girls who actually are that age. But sometimes it’s brilliant when they are the age that they are. Katie Jarvis in "Fish Tank" is unbelievable, and she actually was that age; she played her own age. I just go on occasion and steal those parts.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Carey, you’re now being written about in the tabloids because of your personal life. (Mulligan is rumored to be dating Shia LaBeouf, who co-stars with her in "Wall Street 2.") What’s your opinion of the tabloid media?

Mulligan: I’ve got no complaints. I haven’t really dealt with the British press. I’d never really done publicity for work, before this film ["An Education"]. We haven’t done much press in England yet; [the movie] comes out a couple of weeks later [than in the United States]. So I’ve never been in the tabloids in England, so I don’t have any experience with them.

Alfred, what’s your experience with the tabloid media been like?

Molina: When my wife and I got married, she was a big TV star at the time, and I was doing shows in the London equivalent of off-, off- Broadway. If [the play] was Polish and there were 10 people in a garage watching it, I was in there — and getting fabulous reviews in magazines no one ever read! And Jill [Gascoine, Molina’s wife] was a TV star and — I’m not telling tales out of school — she’s 16 years older than I am, so there was a lot of stuff [in the tabloids] about that. Plus the fact that she was very politically active.

The British press has a reputation for being tougher than the American press, but it’s really just in the tabloid section. And it’s because … the American tabloid press is much more honest about being tabloid press. Whereas the tabloid press in London try and pretend that they’re serious journalists. When you make the front page of the National Enquirer, you can pretty much assume it is what it is. But when you make the front page of the Sun or the Mirror in England, these are supposedly serious newspapers. It’s a murkier world, I would say.

Carey Mulligan in "An Education"

Carey, the Jenny character goes through quite a transformation in "An Education." How did you handle shooting scenes out of sequence?

Mulligan: Some of the stuff that was out of sequence was beneficial, in a way, because we shot everything with Danny and Helen [played by Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike] in the first two weeks. So in the first two weeks when I was genuinely excited and genuinely having fun and enjoying being on a film set … I was psyched …

In a way, that thing works … I owe that all to Lone [Scherfig], really. I played it scene by scene, what had happened to my character before and after, and everything else was just sort of molded by Lone. I made choices and she would adapt them to make sure I was telling the arc of the story. I wasn’t responsible for it, which is I didn’t feel this pressure. I just tried to play each scene as truthfully as I thought it should be, and she adapted it. She took that weight, which was so brilliant about it.

Photo credits: Photo #1: Carla Hay. Photo #8: AP. Photo #13: Reuters. All other photos: Sony Pictures Classics.