Sometimes a happy relationship devolves into the stuff of nightmares. Such is the predicament of Ivy (Olivia Colman) and Theo Rose (Benedict Cumberbatch), the central couple in The Roses, a new film directed by Jay Roach, adapting the 1989 black comedy The War of the Roses. Ivy, a chef, and Theo, an architect, meet in London, experience an immediate and intense attraction, and move together across the pond to Northern California, where they start a family. They raise two children and have what looks to be a blissful, cookie-cutter life—that is, until natural disaster strikes and their career paths drastically diverge. Overnight, Olivia’s restaurant receives a rave review in the San Francisco Chronicle and Theo, following a nightmare at work, becomes a stay-at-home dad.
The Roses is about the dissolution of a marriage, but it is also a laugh-out-loud comedy. Sunita Mani, actress, comedian, and occasional clown, plays Jane, a server at Ivy’s restaurant, We’ve Got Crabs, as well as her close confidante and one of the film’s great comic foils. (Ncuti Gatwa, Kate McKinnon, and Andy Samberg are among the other supporting players.)
On one of the hottest days of the summer in New York, Mani, known for her work in projects like Mr. Robot, Save Yourselves!, and Netflix’s Glow, sat down with Vogue to discuss working with near British royalty, her real-life experience in the restaurant business, and how she has used her platform to get involved in local politics.
Vogue: Jane is a server at Ivy’s restaurant. Have you worked in a restaurant before? Are there any transferable skills from a restaurant to a film set?
Sunita Mani: Yes. My early years in New York, I was doing every kind of job, and for a stint there, I was doing two to three part-time service jobs. I was catering and waitering and hostessing. And I loved how lived-in the work dynamic can feel—it’s just your family really instantly. I felt like that really translated to the movie as well. Like, I worked for this catering company at BAM, and they hire artists as waiters and caterers. It was very Party Down. And then [at a different place], Meryl Streep came into my restaurant once when I was hostessing. Since I was the hostess, I just sat her at her table and was dying to know what she ordered. I was, like, What did she get? Did she eat it all?
You and Ncuti Gatwa play Ivy’s closest confidantes and employees in the film. Had the two of you worked together before?
No, it was all new people [on set]. I like that we are sort of the platonic couple. Everyone’s sort of coupled off, and we get to be the nontraditional couple in the movie that’s just witnessing how traditional relationships are, like, completely breaking down—and meanwhile, Jeffrey’s sucking dick in the parking lot, and I’m fucking dudes in the freezer. It seems to be working for us.
The Roses has a cast of many heavy hitters in the acting and comedy worlds. I have read that you never received any formal acting training. Was it intimidating to work with that group?
Yeah, I think you’re touching on something that generally haunts me—the imposter syndrome ghost—because I don’t come from a formal background. It does rear its head on projects for me sometimes. It is part of it, so I try to hug it, to give it a little noogie. But from day one, that set was so generous, so welcoming, so demystified—I couldn’t have been in warmer waters. It was really just being with good people. I remember calling my manager and being, like, “This is one of the best sets I’ve ever been on.”
Also, Olivia Colman—angel on earth. Getting to be with her and Ncuti, because our scenes are together—she was like an angel with her arms open, and Ncuti and I were just under her wings. It was so sweet. During that first week of shooting, we were having tea and scones. Like, she was making tea and wanted to make sure I’d had a proper scone with clotted cream. So there was a big scone delivery between takes. It couldn’t be more soothing. It really dispelled the intimidation that I might feel. Clotted cream!
Without spoiling too much, The Roses is a pretty faithful adaptation of Danny DeVito’s The War of the Roses. Had you watched the original film before making this one?
I hadn’t heard of it, and then I watched it in preparation before going to London to shoot and I loved it. I thought it was really absurd and super clowny—like the physical comedy. The fact that, like, the mother’s a gymnast—I just thought was so ridiculous.
I know! When she is cartwheeling down the stairs and swinging from the chandeliers…
Exactly. Ours is very verbal, and that one is so slapstick in some ways. It’s so weird. I mean, the setup is so fun, and so, I knew we would have fun. I was so happy to just be a supportive cast member in this modern interpretation of it. I am impressed with how grounded it can be while also being so over-the-top—like, you’re getting these brutally honest nuggets that are relatable and then pushing that relatability further and further by being more brutally honest. It’s hard to watch. I think my character Jane says it, but there is this undercurrent of discontent.
Sometimes it gets a little too real. And you are married! Did the film make you think any differently about marriage? ?
I think that, in my relationship and in my contract of marriage, there is the space for what that means to evolve over time. I did not see myself as wanting [marriage], and I think I had a lot of preconceived notions about what it meant and that it would be a trap. I didn’t feel like it necessarily aligned with my values. But I feel more free and confident to have stability in partnership, and we can make it look like whatever we need to. I think I am lucky and I have a really compatible partner and we are both really independent and free-spirited.
But isn’t marriage whatever you make of it? I think there’s more freedom now within the idea of marriage to break the yoke of outdated traditions. Relationships can feel like a constant balancing act to negotiate expectations of the self with expectations of a relationship, but I think of marriage as something alive and very porous. I feel like I’m describing goo, but that’s fun—you can stick your fingers in it.
Before we go, I wanted to talk about your recent involvement in the NYC mayoral primary. You made an appearance in Jeff Seal’s video for the Zohran Mamdani campaign. How did you get involved?
Jeff Seal is a clown friend of mine. He’s a very funny actor, comedian, and clown. I’ve known him forever. Jeff and I ran into each other at a ceasefire protest, and he asked if I was around to do the video. That’s how it happened. We were screaming in protest, and then he was, like, “ALSO, ARE YOU AROUND TO MAKE THIS ZOHRAN VIDEO?” and I was, like, “TEXT ME!” which is the best way that would happen. It was scrappy and he wrote a script.
But with Zohran, people really didn’t think it was going to happen. I’m so excited! There was this little ray of hope that grew and grew and grew. And I am so proud of New York City for showing up. We could be so lucky to have a candidate like him. It was really nice to vote without fear and vote for the world I want to see.
And how are you feeling about the upcoming mayoral election?
I’m a little scared again. I don’t know how I feel. I’ll throw my money at it. And I feel like my whole life, subconsciously, the personal has always been political. I think people are catching up to that idea, that it’s not just for Black and brown people. I think I’ve felt like I’ve had to be a little anarchic because there’s not space for me, so this is the way I am going to create it. And I think there’s a growing strength in numbers of people who feel that way.
This conversation has been condensed for clarity. The Roses is in theaters from August 29.