Rooney and Kate Mara's On-Screen Threesome with Orlando Bloom: What Really Happened?

Published 11:40 22 Sep 2026 GMT+1

Rooney and Kate Mara opened up about their appearance in Werner Herzog's latest project

Two real-life sisters who appeared in a film by Werner Herzog have opened up about how the experience changed their working dynamic.

Rooney and Kate Mara co-star in Bucking Fastard, directed by Werner Herzog, of Nosferatu the Vampyre.

The film includes a controversial scene in which the two sisters appeared in a threesome sex scene alongside co-star Orlando Bloom.

Its plot is centred on two sisters who 'speak in unison, love the same man, and have the same dreams', according to a synopsis of the film, and required them to be extremely in sync throughout the film's production.

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Now, the two sisters have spoken about the challenges that they faced on set with the movie, including having to speak in sync, which they said turned out to be 'surprisingly' easy.

Speaking to Variety at a press conference of Venice Film Festival, Rooney said: “At first, it was very daunting, the idea that we were going to be playing this kind of same person."

She added: “But I think we found pretty quickly that having a lifetime together and all this history and a childhood of playing together.

Orlando Bloom with director Werner Herzog (Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

"There was just an unspoken world between us that we didn’t have to work very hard to create at all. I’ve never laughed so much, it was a very once in a lifetime, unique experience.”

Kate went on to say that it had been a fascinating experience, describing speaking at the same time as having felt 'almost like a song'.

“We had this unspoken sort of rhythm together. It was very musical," she said. "It sort of happened quite naturally. Surprisingly, it came with a lot more ease than we were expecting.”

The movie is inspired by the real life story of Freda and Greta Chaplin, two identical twins from the UK who made waves in the tabloids after they became obsessed with their neighbour.

Eventually, the neighbour took out a restraining order against the pair, with the title inspired by a remark that the twins made, supposedly at the same time, while appearing in court.

Herzog has also opened up about the film's production, including that scene, saying that 'there are moments when a director has to step back'.

Rooney Mara and Kate Mara (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)

"In the love scene, I said to Orlando: ‘You are in bed, and you have two women in your arms. How you deal with it, I cannot give instructions.’ It is beautiful because it has such charm and depth," the director said.

Herzog had previously said that he had wanted to make Bucking Fastard for several years, but had never found the right cast, including the crucial actors to play the twins.

He said that it only became 'clear it could be done' when he met Rooney and Kate Mara, even saying that they 'hardly needed any rehearsals' for the simultaneous speaking scenes, needing just five days of the two weeks that was set aside for them to practice it.

Bucking Fastard premiered on 3 September, and has a rating of 6.7/10 on IMDb, and 75 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Featured Image Credit: Stefania D'Alessandro/WireImage

Topics: Orlando Bloom, Celebrity, Film