Kate Winslet wanted Mare of Easttown to be as realistic as possible and insisted on showing her unedited belly bulge in one of the drama’s intimate scenes. In the HBO limited series, Winslet plays Mare Sheehan, a hardened detective from Philadelphia who is investigating the murder of a teenage mother (Cailee Spaeny) and another missing person case. As members of her community begin to doubt her work, her personal troubles also start to unravel.
Mare of Easttown premiered on HBO on April 18. Other cast members include Jean Smart, Guy Pearce, David Denman, and Julianne Nicholson. While it is essentially a crime drama, the series also delves into hardcore themes such as abuse, trauma, and grief. The suspenseful finale aired last Sunday, revealing the teenager’s killer and giving its main characters a sense of resolution.
Following the series finale, Winslet revealed in an interview with the New York Times that she was determined to give her character a truthful and raw portrayal. The 45-year-old actress shared that director Craig Zobel had offered to edit “a bulgy bit of belly” in a particular sex scene with a local author (Guy Pearce). Winslet cut him off with an adamant “Don’t you dare!”. She insisted on showing her real body with all its flaws just as Mare is also scarred and broken. Read an excerpt of her interview below:
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.
Winslet also recalled how she rejected the Mare of Easttown promotional posters twice because her face was too retouched. In fact, she consciously worked with the crew to make sure her skin looked unfiltered in every shot. The hands-on actress also collaborated with the costume department to deliberately choose unflattering, ordinary outfits.
It is this dedication and passion that Winset is known for. While she rose to international stardom by playing a sheltered socialite in Titanic, Winslet went on to prove her versatility with a wide range of projects. She did not shy away from taking on less glamorous roles and is acclaimed for her gripping work in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Revolutionary Road, and the 2011 HBO series, Mildred Pierce.
Ultimately, Winslet’s gritty performance in Mare of Easttown paid off as audiences responded positively to her character. Viewers tuned in to the shocking finale last Sunday, causing HBO’s servers to crash due to heavy user activity. The success of the miniseries lies in its dark twists and thrilling mystery, but Winslet’s portrayal of Mare allowed audiences to believe in her and share her grief. In the end, even as the crime has been solved, viewers were left wanting more.
Source: New York Times
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