How Rooney and Kate Mara Learned to Speak in Unison for Werner Herzog’s ‘Bucking Fastard’: ‘It Happened Quite Naturally’
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Sisters Rooney and Kate Mara have spoken further about how they learned to deliver dialogue in perfect unison for Werner Herzog's new drama "Bucking Fastard," with fresh comments from a Venice Film Festival press conference detailing the film's origins and Herzog's rapid shooting schedule. The film, premiering on Thursday at Venice, tells the story of two sisters so close they speak in unison, love the same man and share the same dreams, and marks the first time the real-life Mara sisters have appeared together on screen. Herzog said he had long wanted to make the film but only felt it achievable once he met the pair, praising their natural chemistry.
New details show Herzog gave the sisters two weeks of allotted preparation time but felt ready to start filming after just five days, saying he had "complete confidence" in them once he saw they barely needed rehearsal. The story, loosely inspired by real British identical twins Freda and Greta Chaplin, takes its title from a spoonerism the twins uttered in court; the cast also includes Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson. Herzog closed the press conference by dedicating the film to his late friend David Lynch, saying he wished Lynch "could be in my first audience."
- Herzog began filming after just five days of rehearsal, not two weeks
- Mara sisters say synchronised speech came surprisingly naturally, "like a song"
- Herzog dedicated the film to his late friend David Lynch
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Rooney and Kate Mara are real-life sisters who have both built careers as film and television actors, though this marks the first time they have appeared on screen together. The film in question, "Bucking Fastard," is directed by Werner Herzog, a veteran German filmmaker known for unconventional dramas and documentaries. It centres on two fictional sisters who are so close that they speak in unison, love the same man and share the same dreams, a premise loosely drawn from the real case of British identical twins Freda and Greta Chaplin.
The film is having its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, one of the world's most prominent showcases for new cinema, where directors and cast typically hold press conferences to discuss their work. The cast also includes actors Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson. Herzog has spoken about how quickly the production came together and about his long-standing wish to make this particular story.
David Lynch, whom Herzog referenced in his remarks, was a filmmaker celebrated for his own distinctive and often surreal style, and the two were known to be friends before Lynch's death. Understanding this connection helps explain why Herzog chose to dedicate the film to him at the festival.
Full account
Rooney and Kate Mara have described how they achieved the eerie feat of speaking in perfect unison for Werner Herzog's new drama Bucking Fastard, telling reporters at the Venice Film Festival that the technique came together with far less effort than they had anticipated. The sisters play the Holbrooke siblings, Jean and Joan, whose bond is so intense that they dress alike, think alike and even fall for the same man, a rowdy character played by Orlando Bloom with a thick Irish accent. Their shared infatuation eventually drags them into legal trouble and results in a restraining order. Speaking at the pre-premiere press conference on Thursday, Rooney admitted the prospect of essentially playing a single character split across two bodies had initially felt intimidating, but said a lifetime of shared history with her real-life sister meant the pair barely had to work at building the unspoken understanding the roles demanded.
Kate Mara likened the experience of speaking simultaneously with her sister to performing a piece of music, describing an instinctive shared rhythm that let the dialogue click into place. Both sisters said the process was far easier than expected, and Rooney recalled laughing more on this shoot than on any other, calling the whole experience a unique, once-in-a-lifetime undertaking. Herzog, who has wanted to make the film for years but only felt it was achievable once he found the Mara sisters, echoed their account of an unusually smooth production. He said the cast needed barely any rehearsal, and that although a fortnight of preparation had been scheduled, he was satisfied enough to begin filming after just five days, telling the pair he had complete confidence in them.
The film draws loosely on the real story of Freda and Greta Chaplin, British identical twins who became tabloid fixtures in the 1980s after developing an obsession with a neighbour who ultimately sought a restraining order against them; the twins' court case also supplied the film's unusual title, taken from a spoonerism the sisters reportedly uttered together while testifying. The supporting cast includes Domhnall Gleeson as a social worker assigned to help the sisters adjust to ordinary life once their case draws public attention, alongside Bloom as the object of their shared affection. It marks the first time Rooney and Kate Mara, known respectively for films such as Carol and The Social Network and for television roles including House of Cards and 24, have appeared on screen together.
The press conference also turned to the film's dedication to David Lynch, the celebrated director who died in January 2025 at the age of 78. Herzog, who is separately being honoured at this year's festival with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, said he and Lynch had shared a deep mutual understanding of one another's work despite their very different styles, and that he had told his editor he wished Lynch could be part of the film's first public screening. Visibly moved, Herzog said he wished he could turn back time to invite his late friend to the premiere, acknowledging with a smile that such a thing was not possible. Venice has long been a home for Herzog's work, having previously hosted premieres including Scream of Stone, The Wild Blue Yonder, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
Where outlets differ
One account frames the piece mainly around the Mara sisters' unison-speaking technique and Herzog's filmography/Venice history, while the other leads with Herzog's tribute to David Lynch and includes the detail that Herzog is receiving Venice's Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement this year.
Only one report gives the characters' full names (Jean and Joan Holbrooke, Gareth Mulroney) and identifies Domhnall Gleeson's role as a social worker named Timothy, including his own comment that the part was 'a little terrifying' to play.
Accounts of the real-life twins' story differ slightly in framing: one describes the neighbour taking out a restraining order after the twins became besotted with him, while the other more broadly calls it 'a tabloid court case' without detailing the restraining order's origin.
Only one source specifies Lynch's date and age of death (January 2025, aged 78) and quotes Herzog's remark to his editor during the edit process.
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