Kate Winslet made her screen debut with a British television series titled Dark Season in 1991. She soon followed it with her movie debut in 1994 with Heavenly Creatures. And though she found critical acclaim, Winslet garnered worldwide fame after starring in the James Cameron directorial, Titanic (1997). Since then, she has become a renowned actress, winning multiple accolades, including an Oscar for Best Actress.
In 2021, Winslet joined the cast of the HBO crime drama, Mare of Easttown. The Brit played the titular detective, trying to solve a murder mystery while also trying to keep up with her own life and family. For the lead role, along with critical acclaim and the love from fans, she also won the Best Actress Emmy that year.
Kate Winslet Wanted Mare To Be As Real As Possible
Kate Winslet played a middle-aged detective, trying to solve the mystery of a murder in a small town in Philadelphia. While playing the character, Winslet made sure that her character looked and acted as authentic as possible according to the age she was playing. She wanted Mare to be flawed, like any normal human, and did not let the promotinal crew make her look younger or anything that she wasn’t.
Talking to New York Times back in 2021, Winslet revealed that she sent back the poster for the show to the crew twice, because the initial ones looked like they had gone through a lot of touch ups. She said:
They were like ‘Kate, really, you can’t,’ and I’m like ‘Guys, I know how many lines I have by the side of my eye, please put them all back.
While many try to hide their laugh lines and wrinkles with the right make up and the perfect angle of light, Kate Winslet did the exact opposite. She made sure her makeup and the lighting made sure she looked exactly as she was – a middle-aged woman, hardened by her past and her job.
Kate Winslet Went Against Her Director For a Mare of Easttown Intimate Scene
In the show, Kate Winslet‘s Mare Sheehan has an intimate scene with the character played by Guy Pearce. The director of Mare of Easttown, Craig Zobel, initially told Winslet that they would remove “a bulgy bit of belly” from her intimate scene with Pearce, thinking she would not want that to be on screen. But Winslet had the complete opposite reaction, as she adamantly demanded that it all stayed as is.
With a “Don’t you dare,” the actress made sure that the scene looked as authentic from the perspective of a middle-aged woman. And that she looked exactly as she was, bulgy bits and all. She further added during the NYT interview:
Listen, I hope that in playing Mare as a middle-aged woman — I will be 46 in October — I guess that’s why people have connected with this character in the way that they have done because there are clearly no filters. She’s a fully functioning, flawed woman with a body and a face that moves in a way that is synonymous with her age and her life and where she comes from. I think we’re starved of that a bit.
Making herself vulnerable, but still keeping it all as real as possible, Kate Winslet created the character of a woman who was just like any normal person. From her clothes, to the hair and makeup, to the lighting, it was all there to keep things authentic, Instead of trying to hide parts of her and her character away. Mare of Easttown is available for streaming on HBO Max.
