Oscar Isaac Reveals the Difference Between Working with Carey Mulligan Now vs. When They First Met 15 Years Ago (Exclusive)

Toria SheffieldSat, April 25, 2026 at 6:00 PM UTC

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Oscar Isaac (left) and Carey Mulligan (right) in 'Beef.'Credit: Courtesy of Netflix -

Oscar Isaac opened up about how working with Carey Mulligan on the second season of Beef felt different from their first time working together on the 2011 film Drive

The actors reunite as a married couple in season 2 of the anthology show, which is currently streaming on Netflix

Both Isaac and Mulligan caught up with PEOPLE exclusively during a recent screening of the show in N.Y.C.

Oscar Isaac revealed how working with Carey Mulligan on the show Beef differed from when they first collaborated 15 years ago.

PEOPLE caught up with the pair — who first appeared on screen together in 2011’s Drive — at a recent Beef season 2 screening in New York City.

During the conversation, Isaac, 47, shared that he felt he and Mulligan, 40, had a stronger connection working together the second time around.

Carey Mulligan (left) and Oscar Isaac (right) in 2013.Credit: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty

“There's more, and more because when we first met, we — on that film — I was only on [set] for about a week,” he explained.

“And now, [on Beef], we got to chart a whole relationship together and, you know, use a lot of our past shared history … to kind of inform the whole show,” he continued.

“Yeah. And it was like five months on this, so it was a long, long time,” Mulligan added.

In addition to Drive, Isaac and Mulligan additionally worked together in 2013’s Inside Llewyn Davis.

The pair went on to say that Lee Sung Jin, the creator and showrunner of the series, created an extremely collaborative on-set experience for the cast.

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Oscar Issac (left) and Carey Mulligan (right) in 'Drive.'Credit: FilmDistrict

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“He invited us in to really create the character with us,” Isaac said of the creative process.

“And I think he works like that with all the actors. And I know he worked like that in the first season as well. He, you know, he has an idea and he has the circumstances and the setting and all that. And then he brings in his collaborators and starts creating it together,” he continued.

Oscar Isaac (left) and Carey Mulligan (right) in April 2026.Credit: Stephanie Augello/Getty

Isaac added, “We share experiences from our own [lives] and people we know, and that's how we kind of make it very specific in our own [way],” Isaac said.

“I think that was part of the excitement,” Mulligan said.

“He has such a clear idea of the world that he wants to build and the sort of themes he wants to explore, but he's so excited to hear ideas from people,” she added.

In season 2 of the hit anthology series, the actors portray couple Josh Martin and Lindsay Crane-Martin, a general manager of a country club and an interior designer.

The tensions in their already strained marriage are amplified when employees Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaney) film Josh and Lindsay in a "heated debate" at their home.

Season 2 of Beef is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”