The acting bug bit Carey Mulligan early. From the age of six, the London-born actor was in every school play that would have her. ‘Growing up, I wanted to be an actress and I wanted to pretend to be other people and for people to believe I was other people,' she says. As a result, her appearance doesn’t stay the same for long, changing from project to project, which gives to her an elusive quality that is quite international. 'I don't want me onscreen and think about who I'm married to or where I lives,' she says.
‘I want to sort of trick people, and I think they shouldn’t know a lot about you – nor do they need to.’
One of her most formative experiences happened on a trip to New York at the age of 14, when she saw a, in which the English character actor Pete Postlethwaite played the clown telling his life story.