Summary

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff chats with the stars of Bucking Fastard at TIFF 2026.

Kate and Rooney Mara discuss performing together and reveal they’re ready to do it again.

The cast also discusses collaborating with Werner Herzog.

Oscar-nominated writer and director Werner Herzog returns to narrative filmmaking this year with Bucking Fastard, a drama about two lives inextricably intertwined, starring real-life sisters Kate Mara (Friendship) and Rooney Mara (Women Talking). The feature celebrated its Canadian premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Collider’s Perri Nemiroff had the privilege of speaking with the cast about their work on the film, and in particular, the Rooney sisters’ first-ever performances as scene partners.

In the movie, the Mara sisters play Jean (Kate) and Joan (Rooney) Holbrooke, two sisters who have spent their entire lives living as one. They speak in unison, share dreams, and eventually, they fall in love with the same man (Orlando Bloom). Their shared love, however, turns to obsession, causing tensions to rise and boil over, landing them in court. During their defense, Jean and Joan’s unusual bond and their passionate triangle are put on display as a media frenzy descends. At TIFF, Kate and Rooney Mara, Bloom, and Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina) join Nemiroff in the Collider Media Studio, presented by Campari and The Cayman Islands, to discuss their collaboration with Herzog, from his blunt demeanor to the way he inspired them on set. The Mara sisters discuss finally working together, tapping into their weirdness, and why they’re ready to co-star together again. Bloom and Gleeson also discuss their own on-set chemistry and character creation. You can watch the full interview in the video above, with a transcript provided below.
Kate and Rooney Mara Reveal How They Learned to Perform as One

“If we had lines that were apart, it was panic. Very bad.”

Image by Photagonist

PERRI NEMIROFF: I’ve never seen anything like this, and that’s one of my favorite reactions to have to a movie. ClearIy, I have seen your movie, but for the sake of our audience who might first learn about it here, can someone give us a brief synopsis? ORLANDO BLOOM: Well, you’ll never see a movie like it again. [Laughs] It’s magical. KATE MARA: Well, it’s a love story, in my opinion. If Werner [Herzog] was here, I don’t know what he would say, but we would definitely let him answer this question. But it’s a love story about two sisters who are so deeply connected. They’re so deeply connected that they speak in unison, and they fall in love with the same people. ROONEY MARA: Share the same dreams. KATE MARA: Yeah, share the same dreams. That’s what it is. It’s a love story. Rooney and Kate, of course, I have to start with your performances. When you first signed on to do this movie, what single part of playing these characters together did you think was going to be the most challenging for you, and ultimately, was it or did something else catch you by surprise? ROONEY MARA: I think when we first signed on to do it, we were under the delusion that we were going to, like, separate the parts more and separate the lines more, and that very quickly fell by the wayside. I don’t know why, for some reason, that was our first inclination was like, “Well, we need to separate. It’s too much in unison,” and blah blah. And then when we started, it was like, if we had lines that were apart, it was panic. Very bad. KATE MARA: Yes. I have to say one very small thing to your character, and I remember when we were doing it, I felt so unsafe because I became very codependent with her, and it just felt unnatural at that point to speak on our own. So yeah, I think that was the most surprising part of it. BLOOM: It was amazing performing opposite them, actually, because it was as if they were just breathing, thinking… I don’t know how much prep went into that. So much prep must have because it was just like, “Wow.” And where to look? Where’s the eyeline going to be? And how are you going to play with that? I didn’t even think about the eyeline, but that makes all the sense in the world! When you start preparing to do a performance like this, where do you start, what is step number one, but then also, what’s the last thing you do together that makes you say, “We’re ready to jump in and make an entire movie like this?” ROONEY MARA: I don’t think we ever had that last feeling that you described. Where did we start? We worked with a voice coach together, just initially, to get some ideas on how to sync up, because I think we thought it was going to be a really difficult undertaking, which not that it wasn’t, but it ended up then being much more sort of natural than we had expected. KATE MARA: The play aspect of it, which actually Kate, our vocal coach, really sort of gave us, or gave me that idea of, “Remember when you were little, and you would play together, and you would pretend? That is basically what you’re doing now, just as adults.” And really, if you can sort of go back to that, that’s where all of the magic lies. I mean, I have some really scary videos of us doing exercises with Kate via Zoom, and we’re just laughing and really doing some idiotic things, but all of those little preps and embarrassing, embarrassing exercises really do help put the performance together. I’m a big ol’ nerd for the variety of acting techniques. Can you share one of those things that you did? KATE MARA: Well, one was just sticking your tongue out and holding it, and doing the lines together. Do you like that one? DOMHNALL GLEESON: Holding it while it’s out of your mouth? KATE MARA: Yep, yep. Try right now. GLEESON: No thanks. KATE MARA: [Laughs] I secretly recorded it because we looked so stupid. But that kind of stuff, like trying to get rid of the embarrassment, is really important.
Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson React to the Mara Sisters’ Performances

The cast also share the childhood inspirations that may have shaped their futures.

CloseImage by PhotagonistImage by PhotagonistImage by Photagonist

Orlando and Domhnall, I don’t know if you actually thought about this, but admittedly I did while watching the movie. After seeing the two of them do this, did the two of you ever try to do something like this yourself, either with an actor friend or maybe even trying to match a favorite movie or show? BLOOM: We just did that in Venice. [Laughs] GLEESON: Yeah, we wore the same suit in Venice, basically. You’re very close just by accident. So I think in a way, myself and Orlando are linked in a similar fashion. I’ll give you a big two-parter about watching them do this on set, because again, what you do in this movie is unprecedented. When you two sign on for this movie and know the challenge that they’re going to have to shoulder, what do you think it’s going to be like to work with them, and how did that compare to the collaboration when you actually got on set and shared your characters together? BLOOM: I think it was really exciting. The concept of this, we’ve never seen it before, like I said, and I don’t think you’ll ever see it again. It’s super unique. But seeing them together, moving together, breathing together, it was a very unusual thing to sort of see their connection as sisters, but as one being. It’s unique. The eyeline was interesting, as I said. It was like, “Wait, who are we looking at?” [Laughs] Four eyes. GLEESON: I felt very lucky to be a part of it. It’s so unusual for any two actors to do this — to see two sisters do this… I was talking to your mom after the screening, who was very emotional, and it did feel like you see what you must have been like as kids together. There’s an aspect of that in there. And there’s an aspect of feeling like you’re talking to one person rather than two people, which is bizarre but beautiful, and I think that’s why the performances are so spectacular. This is coming to mind and it kind of veers us off track a little, but I like to ask it every once in a while because it’s fun to think about! When all of you were super young, first growing up, maybe dreaming of becoming actors, what scene from a favorite film or show would you reenact the most for fun? KATE MARA: Well, we were obsessed with Lady Jane, with Helena Bonham Carter, which is kind of dark for little girls. ROONEY MARA: She gets beheaded KATE MARA: She gets beheaded, and she’s, like, 14 in the movie, I think. Our mom, for whatever reason, thought it was a good idea to show us that, and we were obsessed. So, I just always wanted to be beheaded and wear a corset. GLEESON: Actually, I didn’t do this, but my brother — it was a mixture from the film, but he dressed up as the Godfather and got a mannequin head and fake blood and put it at the bottom of my other brother’s bed to try to scare him. So, I don’t know if that counts. Oh, that definitely counts. GLEESON: There’s a lot of beheading in this. This is cool! BLOOM: I think I used to dream about being Superman. GLEESON: Oh, me too! That’s crazy. BLOOM: Once I realized all of these characters, and I had a crush on a little girl when I was at school, I was like, “I could just fly in and save her if I’m Superman.” ROONEY MARA: They wanted to be Superman, and we wanted to be beheaded. What’s this saying about societal norms? [Laughs] It’s very interesting.
Rooney Mara Reveals How Guillermo del Toro Inspired Her Approach to Character Backstory

She worked with the Academy Award-winning filmmaker on 2021’s Nightmare Alley.

Guillermo del Toro smiling while looking at somethingImage via Alberto Guillen/EyePix/INSTARimages

Going back to your characters, I don’t know if you like to work like this, but it’s something that I often think about. Did you do any backstory work on your own, and if so, is there anything you came up with that maybe we don’t see or hear about directly in the film, but we could feel you holding tight to it and informing your performances? ROONEY MARA: Ever since I worked with Guillermo del Toro, he writes history for everyone in the movie, and he gives it to you, and it’s so brilliant. Ever since I worked with him, and I haven’t worked very many times, actually, since I worked with him, but I do it for myself, I follow his model just because I think it’s really fun; I don’t even know if it’s that useful. So, I did that for us, and we collaborated on it. KATE MARA: It’s the typical older sibling thing to go, like, “Yeah, you’re doing all the work. Thank you. I’ll take it.” ROONEY MARA: I don’t even remember what’s in there. KATE MARA: Well, there’s some dark stuff that I don’t want to share that we did that we decided probably… BLOOM: The world doesn’t need to know. KATE MARA: Yeah, you don’t need to know. Like I said, this is a love story. But yeah, there are definitely some secrets that we decided would have sort of led us to this moment in time.
The ‘Bucking Fastard’ Stars Reveal What Werner Herzog Is Like on Set

“A lot of just brutal, blunt feelings, you know?”

Image via Everett Collection

Domhnall, I’d love to hear about figuring out your character and how he responds to them. He’s in a situation where he’s trying to help them, and in the movie, we see a variety of different responses to how the sisters operate in this world, so can you tell me a little bit about finding the right place to land between being warm, understanding and supportive versus maybe a bit more short-tempered? GLEESON: I think he’s genuinely empathetic to them. I think he really wants to know what’s happening with them. And in a lot of ways, I just based that on Werner. Werner really listens really closely, but then he’s very specific about what he wants, and so I just decided to steal a little bit of that and take that into the scenes with them. Because that’s what I find helpful. If somebody listens but never speaks back at all, then you can feel like you’re on your own. You know what I mean? But then if you’re not listened to, that’s awful. But if somebody really listens and then tries to help you get where you want to go, not where they want you to go, I think that’s the best. Because you brought up Werner, this question is coming to mind. I like asking it every once in a while, but especially when it applies to a filmmaking legend. Does he have a monitor dance? BLOOM: There’s not really a monitor. ROONEY MARA: There’s no monitor. That’s fair. An “on-set dance,” let’s say? BLOOM: He creates this moment before each take. He’s so fun. He’s such a sweet, soft soul outside of the set, and then he gets on set, and it’s like the most, “And now, everybody be absolutely quiet. Absolute silence!” And then he does the clapper, and it’s sort of this beautiful pre-take amble that kind of creates a little special moment. He did a lot of just single takes. Did you guys just have one take all the time, too? ROONEY MARA: Regretfully. I remember when we did rehearsal with Werner, though, and we had no idea what to expect or even what we were doing or if it was going to work. He couldn’t stop laughing immediately. KATE MARA: Like in hysterics, yes. And sits very close to you. He’s observing, and so his face would be right here next to us watching our every move. You can just tell when he likes something, and it’s very obvious when he doesn’t. Painfully. GLEESON: I remember that. Now I have to follow up. Dare I ask what he does when he doesn’t like something? KATE MARA: “Stop it.” ROONEY MARA: He stops the take. KATE MARA: And will say, “Stop it.” Does not say “cut,” which, for some reason, it feels worse when it’s just, “Stop. End it.” ROONEY MARA: Also, he’ll be like, “No, no, no.” BLOOM: He has the most amazing handle of language. ROONEY MARA: Like, “That was very bad.” KATE MARA: Shout out to Sylvia. There was a lot of that. A lot of just brutal, blunt feelings, you know? BLOOM: Direct.

Image by Photagonist

Maybe it saves some time, and you can move on to the next take faster? BLOOM: By the way, talk about saving time. I’ve never been on a movie where we finished early every day. GLEESON: I’ve never known a happier crew. Irish people are still talking about it back home. They’re like, “We finished at 3:00 every day!” It’s like, we were working on a Werner Herzog film; that’s what’s exciting. Not the fact that we got home early. This was also a very short shoot, right? I forget the exact number but I feel like I read a number of days and couldn’t believe how much you accomplished in that period of time across many locations. KATE MARA: Regretfully, because we wanted to keep going. But, yeah, very, very efficient. Most impressive.

Related

Werner Herzog Talks ‘Theatre of Thought’ and Turning His Fascinations Into Features | TIFF 2022

Herzog also dove into the uncertain future regarding freedom of thought and the intrusion of technology.

Kate and Rooney Mara Reflect on Making Their First Movie Together

“It is quite interesting and bizarre.”

Image by Photagonist

I want to go back to wording that you just used, Rooney. I think it was in reference to the rehearsal process and not knowing if this was going to work. Do you two remember the very first thing you did, either in prep or on set, that made you look at each other and think, “Oh, it is actually going to work?” ROONEY MARA: No, we never thought that. KATE MARA: We’re still like, “Does it?” ROONEY MARA: We had so much fun. Like, I don’t know if it works or care if it works. We had the most fun. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard. I don’t even know when. We just had so much fun.

KATE MARA: And there’s so much in the film where we’re laughing hysterically together, or something’s amusing, and so much of that is just us feeling that way. It wasn’t scripted. So there’s so much of the film when we watch it that just feels like us in that moment. ROONEY MARA: Also, just having a childhood of playing together, there is just an unbridled freedom that comes with that. There’s a scene where we chase his car down with garbage bags, and we just went wild. And you can do that with the person that you grew up playing with in a way that you probably couldn’t do with someone else. We just had so much fun. KATA MARA: There’s also a lot of, like, right before a take, just one of us pinching each other, whatever, doing something that you wouldn’t do necessarily with someone else that just really helped color the film. Did you two ever discuss, maybe also with Werner, the meta appeal of the movie? I found it really cool that while I’m watching the film, you two totally lose yourselves in the characters, but I’m also having a good deal of fun and fulfillment, knowing your bodies of work, knowing that you’re really sisters, and experiencing that aspect of it on-screen as well. I’m just fascinated that both things can exist. KATE MARA: Gosh. Well, we didn’t talk to him about that, but he has said many times that he wouldn’t make the film unless it was with real sisters, so obviously to him that is very important. But yeah, it is quite interesting and bizarre. Orlando, the question that I jotted down for you comes from a quote that I was reading from Werner in our press notes that I really loved. He said, “I would like to take him to a new level of his life as an actor.” Please tell me how he did that for you. BLOOM: Werner, he is just this auteur, isn’t he? He brings a legacy of everything that he’s done, and his obsessive desire for creativity and film is something that just does inspire a different level of focus and freedom in some ways. He was very caring and dedicated to everybody, and the way that he approaches everything is something that just does inspire you to let go and play, and that’s what it was. I always think of this: I remember reading it and thinking, “Oh, it’s a poem. It’s not a movie; it’s like a poem, this thing!” It’s not anything that you can quantify, and that’s because that’s his brain and how he sees the world and how he thinks. So, just to be with him and on set with him, and to be around him, and with this amazing cast, is sort of like, “Oh, that’s the gift here,” and the possibility of something different. I will just stress that you eat that role up. So good.
Kate and Rooney Mara Are Ready to Work Together Again

“How do we find what’s our next one?”

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I have to start winding down with you all, but I did want to make sure to end on these two questions for the two of you. Obviously, you’re sisters, you know each other very well, but this marks the very first time that you’re working together, so even after all these years of knowing each other, is there anything you saw the other do on this set that surprised even you? BLOOM: That’s a good question. You know what’s so funny is they’re so different. You’re so different. They were playing characters that are moving, thinking, breathing, dreaming all the same, but they’re so different as sisters, as well, the characters, and that’s something that I think when you see them together, it’s another step, a leap that they made into these characters. KATE MARA: What am I going to say? I’m not going to say anything. I mean, definitely, you don’t know what someone’s going to be like on set. You can know them so intensely. I’ve worked with friends before who I was friends with first, and then on set, it just is a very different dynamic. People show up differently at work. So, that was really fascinating for us both. I think that’s probably what you’re referring to. And I won’t tell the world what she discovered, but it was so fun. When it ended, we were both already going, like, “How do we find what’s our next one?” I’ll throw this out there to hopefully manifest things — what do you want your next one to be? If you two could snap your fingers right now and green-light another opportunity for yourselves, is there a particular genre, maybe an iconic big-screen duo you would like to play or emulate? KATA MARA: Oh, that’s scary. BLOOM: Thelma and Louise. KATE MARA: No, but we definitely would jump at the opportunity. Like I said, I don’t know how long ago it was that we wrapped this, but we were immediately stressing about having to work with anybody else. [Laughs] I understand that very much! I’ve got to wrap with you, but this is a question that I definitely needed to bring up. I’ve said it a couple times, but I’ll borrow Werner’s words here. He was describing your performances in the film, and he said, “A performance like theirs, we have never seen anything like this. It has no precedent in cinema history.” That is an absolutely incredible achievement. What does it mean to you to know that you have added to cinema in that way? ROONEY MARA: Well, just because we’ve never seen it done doesn’t mean it was done well. I mean, lower the expectations. I mean, yes, it has never been seen before — maybe no one will ever want to see it again. [Laughs] KATE MARA: It’s very easy to take Werner seriously, but it’s hard to take that kind of compliment seriously for us, even though it’s a beautiful thing to hear, of course. But again, we were just a couple of kids playing and being really weird in front of a camera. I think that’s what it was for us. BLOOM: That was so courageous, some of that. KATE MARA: Oh, gee, thanks. BLOOM: Yeah, it really was. KATE MARA: There was a lot of embarrassing stuff happening there, but very natural for us to be that weird. Bucking Fastard has yet to set a release date. Check back with Collider for more updates!

Release Date

September 5, 2026

Runtime

109 minutes

Director

Werner Herzog

Writers

Werner Herzog

Producers

Agnes Chu, Ariel Leon Isacovitch, Clara Wu Tsai, Werner Herzog

Cast

Rooney Mara

Joan Holbrooke