For Variety’s ‘Actor on Actor’ series, ‘Carol’ actors Rooney Mara and Steve Carrell sat down to interview each other about their roles in the Oscar tipped lesbian drama.

The film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt centres around rich socialite, Carol (Cate Blanchett) who strikes up a lesbian affair with a young shopclerk (Rooney Mara). Mara talks about her instant connection with Cate Blanchett, and how getting to work with her was the the main reason she took on the role.

“It really wasn’t the role that drew me to it. I loved the role, and it was a very different character than I had ever played. But to be honest, it was that I wanted to work with Cate Blanchett,” she told Carrell.

“Then on top of that, it is a beautiful script and such a beautiful love story. And it was really different than anything I had ever done before. I wanted to show a sort of softer side of myself.”

Watch the clip below, or read the full transcript here: