Whether you liked the film or not, the 2010 film A Nightmare on Elm Street failed to meet expectations with fans of the film franchise. Now star Rooney Mara, who played the film’s updated version of Nancy Thompson, has revealed the movie nearly made her quit acting altogether.
She revealed as much while speaking with the LaunchLeft podcast. It seems that her experience with the project has led her to be much more careful with what roles she chooses now. However, she couldn’t say much about what exactly happened while working on the 2010 film.
Here’s what Mara had to say:
“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 began. “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.'”
It’s certainly disappointing to hear that Rooney Mara didn’t enjoy her time making the film, to say the least. And the negative reception of the film in the years since no doubt didn’t do any favors. Nevertheless, it seems to have worked out regarding Mara’s new perspective on choosing roles.
Only a few years passed before Mara joined the cast of David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It ultimately led to her earning an Academy Award nomination as a result. She had this to say about the project:
“I worked on it for a year straight,” she explained. “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.”
Hopefully her career continues in a positive direction. As for the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, it’s been in a state of hibernation ever since the 2010 film was released. But there are often rumblings of a new potential project – so perhaps Freddy will be back sooner rather than later.