A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Rooney Mara Says Film Almost Made Her Quit Acting

One of the most iconic franchises in horror history is A Nightmare on Elm Street, but the last entry into that franchise was a 2010 reboot of the concept, which not only saw the series stagnate in the years since, but even star Rooney Mara nearly quit acting based on the disappointing experience. The performer didn’t explicitly detail what it was about making the movie that she found so unpleasant, but said that she actively made the decision that she would only ever act in films that she felt she had to make, as opposed to taking them under a less passionate personal connection to the material.

“A few years before [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo], I had done a Nightmare on Elm Street remake, which was not a good experience,” Mara shared with the LaunchLeft podcast. “I have to be careful with what I say and how I talk about it. It wasn’t the best experience making it and I kind of got to this place, that I still live in, that I don’t want to act unless I’m doing stuff that I feel like I have to do. So after making that film, I kind of decided, ‘Okay, I’m just not going to act anymore unless it’s something that I feel that way about.’”

At the time of its release, the remake was one of many horror films that aimed to revive a dormant or iconic franchise, as it followed new takes on classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and Friday the 13th. While some of those efforts earned moderate successes, Mara’s Nightmare on Elm Street currently sits at 14% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, though still took in $117 million worldwide.

Luckily, after the release of that film, she first took a small role in David Fincher’s The Social Network, which paved the way for her taking on the title role in his The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Collaborating with Fincher ended up being much more fulfilling personally, with her work also scoring her an Academy Award nomination.

“I worked on it for a year straight,” she shared of developing that project. “David really took me under his wing. He became my mentor in a lot of ways. He took such great care to make sure that I knew that I had a voice and that my opinion meant something. He constantly was empowering me, which I think really affected the rest of my choices thereafter.”

There are currently no confirmed plans for a new film in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

What did you think of Mara’s work on the project? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!