Kate Winslet said she had to ‘invent trauma’ to take on the role of Mare Sheenan, a working-class, small-town Pennsylvania detective whose world crumbles as she begins investigating a murder on the forthcoming HBO show, Mare of Easttown.
The celebrated actress, 45, returns to TV for her first series in a decade as the eponymous lead character, which she revealed took a toll on her emotional wellbeing.
Kate confessed that she struggled to shake off Mare’s inner turmoil and fraught home life, even after she wrapped up filming in the States and returned to her home in Sussex.
Search within: Kate Winslet said she had to ‘invent trauma’ to take on the role of Mare Sheenan, a working-class, small-town Pennsylvania detective whose world crumbles as she begins investigating a murder on the forthcoming HBO show, Mare of Easttown
Speaking recently to Radio Times, she said: ‘It’s a process I’m going through. It’ll be gone soon. I’ve been her for a year and a half, right? You can’t just switch it off.
‘I had to invent more trauma for myself to play this part than any character I’ve ever played.
‘I mean, look at me. It’s utterly, utterly stupid,’ Kate said to the publication with tears trickling down her cheeks.
Affect: The celebrated actress, 45, returns to TV for her first series in a decade as the eponymous lead character, which she revealed took a toll on her emotional wellbeing (pictured in 2011)
According to the award-winning actress, it was not the brooding mystery and crime underpinning the drama which affected her, but rather Mare’s strained relationship with her troubles son who is absent from the home.
She continued: ‘There’s clearly something in me that’s bound up in the guilt.
‘As a mother, one feels for certain things. And you know, not that I have huge things as a mother to particularly feel guilty about myself, but we can always do better as mums.
Challenges: Kate confessed that she struggled to shake off Mare’s inner turmoil and fraught home life, even after she wrapped up filming in the States and returned to her home in Sussex
‘We all have something where we wish we’d said it differently or perhaps made a different choice.’
Kate is the mother to daughter Mia, 20, with her first husband, Jim Threapleton, son Joe, 17, from her second marriage to Sam Mendes, and Bear, seven, who is the son of her partner Ned Rocknroll.
Speaking recently to Radio Times , she said: ‘I had to invent more trauma for myself to play this part than any character I’ve ever played’
Kate confirmed there were many negative underlying themes affecting her character, Mare, which she identified with, even if they weren’t present among her own family.
She continued: ‘When I think about kids today – I mean, luckily, luckily, I don’t have this with my children – but the number of kids who are self-harming, the number of kids who have mental health issues, how hard it is even to track what’s happening to young people when so much of their life is spent online…
‘I was very struck by how relevant a lot of the underlying themes in Mare truly felt to me.’
Kate, who also serves as an executive producer on the series, stars alongside a host of famous faces, including Julianne Nicholson, Jean Smart, Angourie Rice, and Evan Peters, according to Deadline.
The limited series is directed by Gavin O’Connor and premieres on HBO on April 19 2020.
Read the full interview in this week’s Radio Times, out now.
Release date: Kate also serves as an executive producer on the series which premieres on HBO on April 19 2020