Rooney Mara Talks Feelings & Food, Stares You Down For Interview

Rooney Mara has one of those faces. The kind that hooks you with just one look into her deep, dark eyes — so understandably, we've been engaged in a very intense staring contest with her latest Interview cover for several hours. She hasn't blinked yet, but we're confident she can't hold out much longer.

Anyway, once you get past the cover, her one-on-one with Steven Soderbergh isn't your normal "I just want to thank my fans!" type of interview — not that we expected any less. We strongly encourage you read the full feature; it will remind you that there are real, interesting people in show business with thoughts and feelings just like the rest of us. For starters, Rooney likes to eat healthy, in a totally practical way: "I try to eat food that hasn’t been washed in ammonia and then packaged in the shape of breaded dinosaurs filled with cheese — even though those are very tasty. I like to eat food that can actually make it through the 20-plus feet of my small intestine." Fair. Although, cheese-filled dinosaurs are pretty delicious.

Also, just like you, she gets down on herself from time to time. Unlike you, however, the feeling is sometimes reinforced by hundreds of thousands of critical words at her fingertips. She doesn't read reviews often, but when she does, it doesn't help. "I do it when I am feeling really bad about myself, and I find the meanest things that people have said so I can validate my own feelings," she says. "I don’t read them to fluff myself up. In fact, rarely do you believe it when someone says something nice." That's just the tip of the iceberg in this conversation, which reads more like vaguely aggressive pillow talk than print writing (she also talks about her first bra, her deepest fears, and a pretty hilarious story involving latex).

By the way, Rooney, if you're reading this and you do feel like an ego boost just this once, give us a call. We're on your side. Except in the aforementioned staring contest.