Mamie Gummer Explains Why Having Meryl Streep for a Mom Affected Acting Career

TriStar(NEW YORK) — Mamie Gummer didn’t just inherit great acting chops from her three-time Academy Award-winning mom, Meryl Streep. In her new movie, Ricki and the Flash, you can see she also looks just like her mom, as Gummer plays Julie, the troubled daughter of Streep’s rock-star character, Ricki.

Gummer told ABC News it didn’t take long to realize that being a doppelganger to her superstar mom has both its perks and challenges.

“I remember trying to kind of fly under the radar when I first got out of school. And I went to general casting meetings, like at soap operas,” Gummer told ABC News. “It didn’t fly. It does sort of precede every door that I walk into in this way.”

Gummer admitted she was a bit nervous about taking on the role in Ricki and the Flash, which called for her to lash out at Streep onscreen.

“I didn’t want her to take it personally, to be wounded at all. But after the first take, after the first couple of takes, [director] Jonathan [Demme] yelled, ‘Cut,’ and I looked to her like, ‘Are you OK?’ And she just had this big grin on her face. She was thrilled…because I had done a good job,” she said.

While Gummer said she loves her mom’s films such as Mamma Mia and The Iron Lady, there are some she refuses to watch. “I’ve seen many, but there are ones I just don’t want to see for various reasons, like One True Thing. I don’t want to see her suffering. Nor do I want to see anything romantic,” Gummer said, cringing.

Some might say that Gummer was destined to be on film. Streep was pregnant with her when she won an Oscar for the 1982 film, Sophie’s Choice. “So I basically have won an Oscar,” Gummer joked.

Ricki and the Flash is out now.

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