Kate Mara Says Stepson, 11, Is 'Biggest Fan' of Her FilmThe Astronaut: 'He Was Freaking Out the Entire Time' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty

Kate Mara at “The Astronaut” Premiere during the SXSW Conference & Festivals at ZACH Theatre on March 07, 2025 in Austin, Texas

Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty

Kate Mara’s new movieThe Astronauthas one very special fan.

“I brought my eldest kid with me to see the film for the first time, I hadn’t seen it yet. I brought him with me in a pretty big audience, and everyone was on the edge of their seats,” says Mara. “I would say it’s a very thrilling experience. Feels very much like a roller coaster. You feel like you’re on a ride.”

“He was freaking out the entire time,” Mara adds. “He kept saying, ‘Tell me what’s going to happen, tell me how it ends!’ the whole time, literally from the very first scene. He was like, ‘Okay, what’s going to happen next?’ But he loves it. He has an astronaut jacket that he wears out every day. He’s the movie’s biggest fan.”

InThe Astronaut, Mara plays Sam Walker, the titular astronaut who, upon returning home from her first space mission, starts witnessing otherworldly occurrences while staying under NASA’s care at a remote, high-security safe house. Mara stars alongsideLaurence Fishburneand Gabriel Luna.

Gabriel Luna, Scarlet Holms, Kate Mara, and Jess Varley at SXSW 2025.Stephen Olker/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty

Gabriel Luna, Scarlett Holmes, Kate Mara, Jess Varley at “The Astronaut” Premiere during the SXSW Conference & Festivals at ZACH Theatre on March 07, 2025 in Austin, Texas

Stephen Olker/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty

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Writer-director Jess Varley adds how “sweet” it was for Mara and her stepson, whom Mara’s husband Jamie Bell shares with ex-wife Evan Rachel Wood, to share that moment together. (Mara is also mom to two younger childrenwith Bell, 38.)

“We went over for dinner not that long ago and he was like, ‘I have a ton of questions,’ " Varley says, with Mara noting that despite her being the lead of the movie, she thinks her child “understands the movie far better than I ever will.”

Kate Mara in “The Astronaut”.Dave Garbett

Kate Mara’s The Astronaut

Dave Garbett

Mara says a “highlight” of the project was sharing scenes and bonding time with costar Fishburne, 63, who is also an executive producer onThe Astronaut.

“It was so incredible to work with him because he has such passion and such joy and love for acting, still today. He’s been acting since he was a tiny kid,” she continued. “I feel very much like that as well, and I’ve been acting since I was little too. To see somebody that I really look up to who really still feels the joy and really shares the joy with everybody, it’s so amazing to see.”

Laurence Fishburne and director Jess Varley behind the scenes of “The Astronaut”.Dave Garbett

Kate Mara’s The Astronaut first look exclusive

As for how she handled any alien scenes, Mara explains, “I was basically looking at nothing. Maybe there was a tennis ball at some point, or I think we used a tree branch maybe at one point as well.”

“I had to use my imagination and really rely on Jess and her vision,” she adds. “If I was ever struggling with what I was meant to be seeing, I really felt like I could rely on Jess because her vision has always been really specific and clear, which is so useful. That’s not always the case.”

source: people.com