Carey Mulligan Bikini Top Pictures in January 2012 W

Carey Mulligan shows some skin on the cover of W's January 2012 issue. She's been off in Australia working on The Great Gatsby with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire, but it's her most recent release, Shame, that she discussed with the magazine. The Steve McQueen-directed movie earned a NC-17 rating for its graphic sex and frequent nude scenes, and leading man Michael Fassbender has gotten a great deal of attention for the amount of time he spends in the buff. Carey also has her moment sans clothes, and she spoke about that, as well as getting the role and her start in acting, with the publication. Carey Mulligan told W:

• On going nude in Shame: "I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of nudity . . . When it came to this, it just seemed so obvious that she is the sort of person who would have no trouble being naked in front of any family member, especially not her brother . . . I thought I had a week before the nude scene to go to the gym, but we shot it on my first day of filming."
• On wanting the role in the picture: "When I read the script, I found it terrifying. My English agents sent it to me and said, 'There’s this amazing part.' For me, as an actor, it was sort of scary. I’d seen Hunger, which was done by Steve McQueen, the director of Shame, and I thought it was just incredible. And I’d always wanted to work with Michael Fassbender, who had been cast as the brother. So, I asked to have a meeting with Steve to pitch myself for the job."
• On being dramatic as a child: "I would put my earphones on and sing along to soundtracks of musicals like Les Misérables. I’d act it out in the mirror and cry. When I was 11 or 12, I asked my parents about going to a performing arts school, and they said no. Although I did audition to be a presenter on a TV show called Dig It."