2010–2016: Breakthrough and critical acclaim
In 2010, Mara played Erica Albright, Mark Zuckerberg's ex-girlfriend, in David Fincher's biographical drama film The Social Network. The same year, Mara was cast as the lead in a film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first of the Millennium book trilogy by Stieg Larsson. She played Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant but troubled computer hacker who helps journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) solve a series of murders. Mara won the role over several other actresses after two and a half months of auditions and screen tests. David Fincher directed the film, with Scott Rudin producing. The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest were planned to be adapted as well, depending on the film's box office performance. Fincher initially did not picture Mara as the character, but changed his mind after she auditioned. He convinced executives at Columbia Pictures to cast her for the part.
Fincher's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo began shooting in Sweden in September 2010. Mara did not consider the film to be a remake, but another interpretation of the novel. "I plan on giving my interpretation of the character," she stated to Variety. Mara's long brown hair was cut short and dyed black, in a style reminiscent of 1970s punk and 1980s goth fashions. She also had her ears pierced four times, and had her brow and right nipple pierced for the role. Her nose and lip piercings were fake. She kept the nipple piercing so that it would not need to be re-pierced for a sequel. Mara's eyebrows were bleached, and she wore a temporary dragon tattoo. She began preparing for the role by starting to skateboard and kickbox, and underwent dialect and computer training. She also visited Stockholm, the setting of the novel. The film was released on December 20, 2011. Mara received universal critical acclaim and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for her performance. On January 24, 2012, she received her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
In 2011, Mara was considered to star in Kathryn Bigelow's action film Zero Dark Thirty, but the role went to Jessica Chastain. The following year, Mara signed on to replace Carey Mulligan, who had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts, in Spike Jonze's Her (2013), where she played Catherine Klausen, the ex-wife of central character Theodore Twombley (Joaquin Phoenix). In addition, Mara starred in Steven Soderbergh's psychological thriller Side Effects (2013), replacing Blake Lively. The film also starred Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vinessa Shaw. She played Emily Taylor, "a woman who turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison." She also starred in David Lowery's romantic crime drama Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013), which was described as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde story, alongside Casey Affleck and Ben Foster. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2013, where IFC Films purchased the rights for US distribution. In May 2013, she became the face of what was then a new Calvin Klein fragrance, Down Town.
Mara's sole release of 2014 was the crime drama thriller film Trash, an adaptation of the 2010 novel of the same name by Andy Mulligan directed by Stephen Daldry. The same year, Mara served as the costume designer on her then-boyfriend Charlie McDowell's feature directorial debut The One I Love. She was credited as Bree Daniel.
In 2015, Mara starred opposite Cate Blanchett in Todd Haynes's highly acclaimed film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt, Carol. The film premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it received a ten-minute standing ovation. She won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her role in the film, shared with Emmanuelle Bercot. Her performance garnered widespread critical acclaim and earned her nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
The same year, Mara played Tiger Lily in the Joe Wright-directed fantasy film Pan, a role for which she received a great deal of criticism; she and Wright faced accusations of "whitewashing" a Native American character. To express their concerns, Native American activists created a hashtag #NotYourTigerlily to protest Mara's casting and thousands of Native Americans participated in a "Twitterstorm" to share memes addressing their concerns about the portrayal of Native women in film. Mara would later voice regret over her role in the film.
In 2016, Mara voiced The Sisters in the stop motion animated film Kubo and the Two Strings. She then starred alongside Ben Mendelsohn in Benedict Andrews' Una, which had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on September 2, 2016. Mara next starred in Lion alongside Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman, and The Secret Scripture, directed by Jim Sheridan. The former was well-received by critics, with praise for the acting, emotion, visuals and cinematography. It received six Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
