Kate Winslet Kept This Item From ‘Mare of Easttown’: I Had to Have a Souvenir’
HBO’s hit crime drama Mare of Easttown has Titanic star Kate Winslet back in the spotlight. Hitting the small screen in April 2021, the series follows Winslet as tough detective Mare Sheehan, a mother and grandmother investigating the murder of a teenager in Easttown, Pennsylvania. The Oscar winner bonded with her gritty character and just “had to have” something to keep from her time as Mare.
Kate Winslet’s character Mare Sheehan believed in dressing down
Striving to play the rough-around-the-edges detective as authentically as possible, Winslet purposely sought out a wardrobe that reflected comfort and convenience.
“Whenever we’d find something unflattering, we’d be jumping up and down like, ‘Yes! We’re wearing this,’” Winslet told the New York Times, saying she would leave her clothes in a pile in her trailer at the end of the day. “They would stay in a rumpled up ball overnight. We were not washing and drying and hanging those clothes. Never.”
Mare was clearly a fan of dark colors, plaids, flannels, and sweatshirts. Winslet bonded with one particular item the detective wore as a regular part of her ensemble throughout the series.
“I had to have a souvenir,” The Reader star said to Oprah Daily in April. “That barn jacket was her armor. It was her uniform when she didn’t really have one. I have it on my hook. Every now and then, I put it on and say, OK, that’s better.”
Mare Sheehan was hard to shake for Kate Winslet
Frequently taking on complex characters, Winslet is accustomed to embracing a role. Yet her time playing Mare Sheehan went to a whole new level.
“I do tend to get fairly affected by the roles that I play,” she remarked. “But this one, honestly, took over completely. It wasn’t just something I turned up and did and then made dinner for my own family. My poor husband is so thrilled to have me back.”
While Mare in Easttown dealt with difficult subject matters, Winslet truly bonded with her character and appreciated her tough-as-nails persona.
“I really became this person,” the HBO star said. “Mare became like an alter ego for me. I was playing her for 20 months of my life, with the prep as well. I came to love her.”
Kate Winslet adopted Mare Sheehan’s eating style
As a hard-working detective, Mare is often seen grabbing food wherever she can regardless of ingredients or calories. As a mom of three, Winslet could relate to the eating-on-the-go lifestyle.
“Those are the things about Mare that I love,” she remarked. “Any busy mother doesn’t sit down to eat. I mean, I don’t! I’m constantly standing and moving around the kitchen while I’m serving everyone else’s food or rushing to do something else. Mare’s car is her office, the place where she eats her meals, and the place where she has private conversations. It was important to make sure there was plenty of eating and bad habits that went on in that car.”
With filming done on location in Easttown, Winslet commented on the bond shared by the entire team of Mare in Easttown and how wrapping up was a bit bittersweet.
“We created our community,” she explained. “We were a tight-knit group of actors and crew. That’s a lot to let go of. It’s like immersing yourself in a great college for a few years and then it’s like, bye! You don’t stop yearning for those people. It’s really been such an amazing experience.”
