Kate Winslet is taking care of Mare.
The Oscar winner, whose transformation into detective Mare Sheehan for the HBO series Mare of Easttown has captivated audiences, made sure she stayed true to her character throughout filming. In fact, she fought for Mare to be as authentic as possible, even in her most intimate moments.
In a new interview with The New York Times, Winslet—who acknowledged buzz about her "unglamorous" appearance for the role—recalled director Craig Zobel offering to cut "a bulgy bit of belly" from her sex scene with co-star Guy Pearce. Her response? "Don't you dare!" she shared with the outlet.
Additionally, Winslet also called out the retouching on the show's promo poster, sending it back, twice. "They were like, 'Kate, really, you can't,'" she told the NYT, "and I'm like, 'Guys, I know how many lines I have by the side of my eye, please put them all back.'"
Production also helped to ensure the lighting made Winslet's skin "look not nice" on camera. "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 shared. "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."
The Titanic star even turned to her husband Edward Abel Smith for a second opinion on the direction of her character. "In episode one, she's having sex on a couch," Winslet told the NYT. "I said to my husband, 'Am I OK with that? Is it all right that I'm playing a middle-aged woman who is a grandmother who does really make a habit of having one-night stands?' He's like, 'Kate, it's great. Let her do it.'"