Kate Mara has revealed she had to warn her parents about the awkward sex scenes that she performs in her new TV show – and they were left with just 10 minutes to watch per episode after skipping through the X-Rated sequences.
The 37-year-old Hollywood star plays a teacher named Claire Wilson in new drama A Teacher – with begins airing on the BBC tonight.
Her character is seen seducing a teenage pupil – with uncomfortable scenes showing an adult in power taking advantage of an impressionable youth.
Kate explained that mixing controversial storylines with intimate scenes left her feeling more uncomfortable than usual while performing sex scenes – a sentiment that was shared by her parents.
The actress told The Sun on Sunday: “My parents want to be supportive and watch. I just told them they’re going to have to fast-forward through some things. That eliminates a lot of the show.
“When I called them to ask them what they thought, they said things like, ‘Yeah, we only had to fast-forward four times tonight’. That leaves probably ten minutes of the episode.”
Tackling difficult subject matter made A Teacher more challenging for Kate to film – but she hopes to raise important issues through the series.
She explained: “Some people are definitely going to feel uncomfortable watching. It wasn’t something that we made thinking it would be a super-easy watch.
“Comfortable is not the word we were going for. I don’t think you normally see the story told from this point of view. The fact that it’s a female doing the abuse and being the groomer and all of these things is also something that is rarely discussed.”
Kate performs alongside 25-year-old Jurassic World actor Nick Robinson who plays her 17-year-old victim Eric Walker.
While her on-screen husband is played by 37-year-old Ashley Zukerman who plays a musician named Matt Mitchell.
The 10 part series – which is based on 2013 film of the same name – has already aired in the USA where it was praised for tackling uncomfortable subjects, but criticised for “simplifying” the content.
A Teacher airs on BBC Two on Sunday night at 10pm.
