Emma Mackey on Working With Greta Gerwig and Paying Tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood in ‘Ella McCay’: ‘It Was Very Cathartic and Primal’

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Ella McCay,” now in theaters.

From the minute she sets foot into her office as the new lieutenant governor, all eyes are on Ella McCay (Emma Mackey) in “As Good as It Gets” director James L. Brooks’ latest film. “Ella McCay” follows the 34-year-old title character as she attempts to balance the high pressure of her new position, in which everyone around her believes she’s destined to fail, a marriage with her high school sweetheart on the rocks, and the return of her absent father (Woody Harrelson), set against the backdrop of the incoming Obama administration.

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With the entire state watching to see her make a mishap, Ella must find a way to deal with balancing her personal and professional endeavors, all while trying to prove herself worthy of the position she’s been working for her whole life.

Mackey spoke with Variety about letting out Ella’s pent-up rage during filming, paying tribute to the comedies of the golden age of Hollywood, and working with Greta Gerwig in the first installment of Netflix’s “Narnia” franchise.

What were your early conversations with James L. Brooks about during the beginning stages of the film?

We were always coming back to the writing and there was a lot of research involved. I picked his brain about where Ella comes from and the influences behind her, and got to meet with some elected government officials to ask them about how their day is structured to understand the mechanics of a day to day of a public servant’s life. Jim has spoken about this before, but he’s heavily influenced and wanted to pay homage to what he calls the golden age of Hollywood, and screwball comedy. We always wanted to honor that.

Ella has two women in her life: Aunt Helen [Jamie Lee Curtis] and Estelle [Julie Kavner], her secretary. They see all sides of Ella, and while watching the film, I felt like they see so much of their younger selves in her. What does Ella see in both of them that she carries inside as she becomes governor?

I think it’s with Aunt Helen, it’s quite simply unconditional love. They just have this mutual respect for each other. The moment Aunt Helen sees Ella for who she is, which is from very early on in the story, we get to witness one of those moments when you have someone in your life like that who believes in you and loves you for who you are without counting and without expecting anything in return. Helen is Ella’s biggest champion. Jamie has this too, by the way. It’s life imitating art, but she has this real life force to her, and she is always moving forward and is so funny and such a great presence. 

I’m so glad you brought Julie up because she’s incredible. She’s so profoundly charismatic as a person. I have such respect for her, and she made me laugh so many times. I felt really inspired by these two women.

Ella and her husband Ryan [Jack Lowden] get caught up in a scandal that takes a toll on Ella mentally and impacts her career. We as the audience see how Ryan uses Ella to get what he wants, and he feels stuck behind her accomplishments. At what point does Ella realize that she has to end their relationship?

That’s a good question. I think she knows it earlier than we think. In the beginning, when they’re young, we get why she falls for him, because he sees the potential in her. When you’re 16 or 17, and when you have someone who believes in you that much wholeheartedly is a really powerful thing. It’s pure at that moment and earnest until it becomes opportunistic and much darker and horrid in the end. 

He just keeps coming back and keeps coming back. When she finally says the line “You wouldn’t be doing this to me if you even liked me,” it is such a sad sentiment. The fact that she’s able to say that in that moment is a testament to Jim’s writing, but to have that clarity is amazing.

I love how finally Ella gets to let all of her anger and heartbreak out by screaming with Helen towards the ending after she leaves Ryan. It finally took her so long to get it out, but in that moment, it’s so unbelievably cathartic.

It wasn’t originally planned. There’s that first scene where she kind of stifles or tries to scream and nothing really happens. She deflates and can’t do it, and Jim made it his mission to make me scream on because I can’t do it either. It was a big moment, and it felt right too. It felt like it was a moment that was necessary and people needed to see it. It was very cathartic and primal. 

There’s such a clear sibling dynamic between Ella and Casey [Spike Fearn] throughout the film, because he really does humble her in the way that siblings do, especially during the moment where she accidentally gets herself high in his apartment and when he comes to her for advice on how to win Susan [Ayo Edebiri] back. What was it like building that relationship with Spike?

Spike and I were talking about this yesterday, but I have a brother who’s his age too. Our families are from pretty similar places in England and so as soon as we met, there was always a connection and an understanding. I felt so protective of him because he’s at the beginning of everything. Spike himself is very intelligent and sensitive and has such an understanding of things. I love that scene because all of the cutbacks to him and his reactions are just so good, because he’s in shock. He’s precious in those scenes. I love that he does ask for help in the end.

Ella is a couple years older than me but I found myself relating to some of the things that happen to her throughout the film. For those who are younger and seeing themselves identified while watching this film, what do you hope they take away from her character? 

I hope they take away what I took away from her, which is just how inspiring it is to see someone be so steadfast in what they do and have such a great work ethic and to care so deeply about what they do. To know how to inform yourself is important, and to put your knowledge to the service of others is a very noble thing to do. It’s a very simple human act and I think we should all be learning from that.

You’re set to star in Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” film, and I noticed that Ella and Jadis [The White Witch] are sort of poised in their own ways in high positions of power, but are on opposite ends of good and evil. When you’re working with filmmakers like Jim or Greta, what is it like to explore these two different roles and how they present themselves?

Ella’s poised sometimes, but I don’t see her as necessarily poised. I think she can show up at certain points and do the work, but she’s clumsy too. We tried to find the cracks in the moments where she does falter and where life sort of surprises her. When you see those cracks in someone, that’s fun to play. There’s a big gap between Ella and Jadis, which I’m currently filming on, but I get to be around some of the greatest, most passionate cinema brains in movie history. It’s such a privilege. Both Greta and Jim are very truthful in their approach and in their manner, and they care about the work deeply. Being around people like that is very invigorating and enriching and they lead by example all the way.

This interview has been edited and condensed.