American actress Kate Mara's latest role as a high school teacher with an affair with underage students made her realize how common the problem is.
Marla, 37, said in an interview with The Washington Post, "We saw that on Google Channel. The number of true stories we can see every week is simply too much. I think this predatory relationship happens much more often than most people expect. ”
That encouraged her to continue filming A Teacher, a boundary-breaking project that will premiere on Hulu on Nov. 10. Starring and supervised by Mara, the 10-episode limited series tells the story of Claire, in her 30s, who finds a new job teaching English at a suburban high school in Texas. Soon, she became entangled with one of her students, a 17-year-old senior named Eric (played by Nick).
What started out as innocuous after-school tutoring quickly turned into a secret romance. The married Claire must find a way to explain her strange behavior to her husband, while Eric tells his friends that he is dating an older woman from a local college.
Playing someone so ruthless is a challenging thing to do, Mara said, "Playing an abuser — someone who uses his position and power to manipulate others — I don't think it's an easy task." ”
She said it felt particularly intimidating because she had just given birth to a daughter when filming for "The Teacher" began in 2019. She said the production team and the cast made her feel very comfortable returning to work as a new mom, "We're going to shoot some very intimate shots, and I just had a baby three months ago, so it can make me feel vulnerable and scared." But it felt like it wasn't at all because I had incredible support. Nick (Robinson) is fantastic, he's a true professional. ”
The Teacher is based on the 2013 film of the same name and is written and directed by Hannah Fidel, who has also directed the miniseries. Marla said Claire and Eric aren't real people, though she's well aware of the various male-female student relationships that have emerged over the past few years. Recent cases include Sarah Fox, then 26, a Texan who turned herself in in 2017 for having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old student; Stephanie Peterson, a 27-year-old Florist, who was arrested in 2018 on suspicion of having an affair with a 14-year-old teenager; and Hunter Day, a 22-year-old high school science teacher, who was arrested on suspicion of having an inappropriate relationship with a student in Oklahoma in 2017.
Mara, best known for her roles in House of Cards and 24 24 Hours, said the story appealed to her because she was interested in showing "two perspectives": the victim Eric's perspective, and Claire's.
Speaking about her role in the play, Mara said, "While we knew her choice was wrong, we also wanted to show her human side. For example, everyone has a sense of loss and wants to be noticed. This simply doesn't give any justification for her choice, but it's important to find those relevant traits. ”
The show doesn't portray Claire as a one-dimensional monster. Instead, the book delves into the personal struggles that influenced her to make bad decisions, such as her shaky marriage. For Marla, this is the key to gaining insight into Claire's complex psyche.
Marla said, "I like that [the show] exposes the gray areas of consent, power dynamics, and embellishments. I'm excited to explore the lies my character Claire tells herself in order to prove that she's always known to be wrong. ”