Actor Paul Dano makes his directorial debut with "Wildlife," starring Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal, in theaters now. On "Salon Talks," Dano explained his connection to the original writing, a familial drama, and what convinced him to adapt the story into a film.<br><br>"Wildlife" is adapted from the 1990 novel of the same title by Richard Ford and follows the breakdown of a 1960s marriage from the viewpoint of a teenage son. "I opened it up on the bookshelf in the bookstore and immediately the first sentence and the first paragraph remain one of my favorites ever in a book," Dano told SalonTV. <br><br>"I find it so profound that family can go through heartbreak and tragedy, yet we're still family. I hope somebody sees a piece of themselves in it. I hope they're moved." <br><br>As a director, Dano was particularly interested in Mulligan's character Jeanette and reshaping the way Mulligan is often cast. He did not envision a role that asked Mulligan to play a scaled back, prettied up version of herself, but instead, a tangled up one with many layers.<br><br>"I was excited to see Carey do something more messy. That was the instinct with her," Dano said. "She's such a great actor, but with Carey, I really wanted to see her have her shadows spill out."<br><br>Watch the interview above to hear Dano talk about how he and his writing partner on "Wildlife," Zoe Kazan, collaborated. Dano explained how Kazan first got involved. "As I was writing it, I sort of starting to think, 'this is pretty good.' So I wrote a first draft, which I then gave to Zoe and she just kinda tore it apart. There was notes on every page." <br><br><br>Photography by Jill Greenberg</a>. Watch Jill's TedxTalk on the Female Lens</a> and the problem with only seeing the world from a man's perspective. And find out more about Jill's initiative Alreadymade.,</a> a mission to hire more female photographers and content creators. <br><br>
