Kate Mara Talks Acting, Says She Feels "More Confident" While "Playing Other People"

"I was shy in my own skin," she says

Kate Mara certainly knows how to make an entrance—and an exit—just look at her role on House of Cards. 

Even though she departed the hit Netflix series (sorry if you haven't seen it!), fans can expect a heck of a lot more from her in the future when she graces the big screen in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. But Mara tells FLARE magazine, if you knew her as a child, you'd never expect her to grow up to be an A-list star because she was so shy. That quality, however, is what motivated her to become the actress she is today. 

"That's part of why I wanted to do it—for whatever reason, I was shy in my own skin, and when I was playing other people, I felt more confident," she says. 

Because it's her job to play "other people," the 127 Hours actress says she prefers to keep her private life private because it would be tough to take on other roles otherwise. 

"It's so simple to me, because as an actor your job is to convince people you are someone else, and it's harder to do that when people know a lot about who you are and what you do on a Saturday," she explains. "I'm a private person, but I'm a very open person when it comes to my inner circle."

So does her inner circle now include co-stars Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan? Maybe! It will be Mara's first superhero movie, which definitely lends itself to some conversation points between the group. But she tells the magazine that Fantastic Four is much more than your average superhero flick.

"You do get that exciting, fantastical action-packed thrilling thing, but you also get the emotional and very real human part of who these [characters] are," she tells the magazine. "The movie really is about family coming together and what lengths you would go to protect them."

With such heavy material, the cast had to really give it their all, which sometimes could be tiring. Thankfully the co-stars could goof around with each other.

"The movie is very intense, so the set was an intense environment. But because of our dynamic, there was a lot of joking around," she says of Jordan and Teller. "When you're having to emote a certain kind of energy and vibe all day, you need to joke around to let off some steam."

Another way she let's off steam? Through her style! The Shooter actress prefers to choose comfort over anything else.

"Honestly, unless I have a meeting, I'm usually in some sort of sweatpants and Converse. I'm all about comfort," she says. "But if I have things to go to that require me to be social, I tend to do that mix of masculine meets feminine. I like the marriage of the two."

FLARE's August issue will be available on Next Issue today and on newsstands July 15.