Mae Whitman on Playing Mary Elizabeth in The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Photo courtesy of Linda Vanoff1/6Can you tell us about what your character in Perks, Mary Elizabeth, is like?
"Mary Elizabeth is one of Charlie's [played by Logan Lerman] new friends. She's very opinionated and strong-willed. She's a Buddhist, but she's also an angry punk, which is pretty funny and cool. Upon reading the book, I immediately related to her. I wanted to tell her story the right way because I see a lot of myself in her. She feels very strong and is always trying to be in control."
Photo of Logan Lerman and Mae in Perks. Courtesy of Summit Entertainment2/6Why do you think that you felt such a strong kinship to your character?
"I was similar to Mary Elizabeth in high school, and I still am in a lot of ways. I'm an only child and people have said I'm a Goth. I'm very strongly opinionated and it's been a struggle of mine to let go of my fear of not controlling a situation. I've always related to not being popular in high school and not being the 'super hot girl.' High school can make you feel as if you're anything but an individual who is special and beautiful in your own way. It was important to me to bring more dimensions to Mary Elizabeth than someone who is just the character that people think is a Goth. She's a real person who has a life and a heart and reasons for doing what she does, and so I really wanted to try to bring that to life."
Photo: Getty Images3/6What was the experience of filming this movie like? The characters are so tight-knit in the film—did you bond on set?
"I've never had an experience on set like this one before. Johnny Simmons [who plays Brad] is basically my best friend. So much of what this book is about is an understanding of pain and love, and this feeling of that time period of growing up. It's so raw and sensitive and it's such an incredible time. Stephen [Chbosky] tried to find like-minded people, so a lot of the work was already done for us, but immediately, we all just got along so well. We all became a family and literally spent every waking minute together. We went on adventures together and went through bad things and good things. It was beautiful."
Photo of Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, and Mae in Perks. Courtesy of Summit Entertainment4/6There's an impactful scene where your love interest shows affection for your friend, and it reflects a feeling of rejection that so many girls experience.
"It's important to show the painful moments. The writer and director [Stephen Chbosky] has said that he wanted to try to make a movie with no villains. It's a movie through which you understand why people do what they do, and that when people do bad things, there's a reason. Maybe they've been through something hard themselves. In that moment, it's so painful for her to get rejected. I've been in that position so many times because as an actor, I hear, 'oh, you're not pretty enough for this role.' She realizes that she can't control her fate, so she finds someone who appreciates her for who she is. That's a really cool message."
Photo: Getty Images5/6What other projects do you have lined up?
"There are a couple of voice-over projects that I'm working on right now, like a new reboot of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I'm doing a Tinker Bell movie for Disney [Secret of the Wings]. I'm also working on Parenthood. I'm in a really good groove in my life right now because I'm happy with everything that I get to be a part of."
Photo: PR Photos6/6Growing up, was there a young adult fiction book that impacted you?
"A Wrinkle In Time [by Madeleine L'Engle]. That book was seriously important for me growing up because it had the same message of being open and aware of your surroundings. It was part of my first foray into thinking about the bigger questions, the universe, and time. The book gave me an alternative perspective—almost an escape. It's something I carry with me."
