Kate Mara grateful for sex scene support on A Teacher

Kate Mara relied on the professionalism of her A Teacher co-star Nick Robinson and the show's crew while filming intimate scenes just three months after giving birth.

The former House of Cards star welcomed a baby girl with her actor husband Jamie Bell last year but headed straight back to work after her maternity leave to start shooting the raunchy new drama, which follows an affair between a teacher and her student.

Mara credited the cast and crew of the limited series for making her feel completely at ease during production.

"There's some very intimate scenes we had to shoot, and I had just had a baby three months before, so it could have felt vulnerable and scary," she told the New York Post's Page Six.

"But it didn't feel that way at all, because I had incredible support. Nick is awesome. He's a true professional," she went on.

Her role in the show had Mara researching news of inappropriate relationships between teachers and students, and she was horrified to discover how commonplace the affairs are.

"We had it on Google Alerts," she shared.

"The amount of real-life stories that we'd see on a weekly basis was quite overwhelming. This type of predatory relationship happens much more frequently than I think most people would expect," she said.

Mara also found it challenging to portray an unsympathetic character, particularly as a new mum.

"Playing someone who is an abuser - who uses her position and her power to manipulate someone - is not something that I would say is an easy thing to do," she added.

A Teacher, which Mara also produced, is based on the 2013 film of the same name. It debuted on streaming service Hulu on Tuesday.