NEWS'Went a Bit Mad': Kate Winslet Had to Seek 'Proper Help to Come Back' to Herself After Dark Role
Actress Kate Winslet confessed that she had to seek 'proper help to come back' to herself after immersing herself during the filming of 'Mare of Easttown.'
Jan. 26 2026, Published 4:20 p.m. ET
Kate Winslet admitted playing a dark role pushed her to the edge, forcing her to "seek proper health" for the first time.
"There's this thing that happens as an actor, and it sounds very self indulgent so I very rarely say it," Winslet, 50, explained during an appearance on the "Lessons From Our Mothers" podcast on Sunday, January 25.
Kate Winslet Opened Up About 'Difficult' Role
Kate Winslet revealed playing a 'really difficult role' took a toll on her mental health.
"But when you play a really difficult part — I think of Mare of Easttown, for example, which flattened me, my god — you do have to kind of come out the other side," she explained. "I call it re-entry. Re-entry into your own life, going back into your friendships, reintegrating into the rhythm of family again. Exiting a family, leaving people behind, letting a character go."
The Titanic actress, whose son Joe Anders recently filmed the new Apple TV+ series Cape Fear, said she was grateful to offer him advice she wished she had received while filming the HBO drama, a project she admitted pushed her to her breaking point.
Kate Winslet 'Went a Bit Mad'
Kate Winslet confessed that she 'went a bit mad' after filming 'Mare of Easttown.'
Winslet portrayed a small-time detective in Pennsylvania, juggling the investigation of a local murder with intense personal issues, including a divorce and the suicide of her son.
The drama aired on HBO in 2021, with production delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It was meant to be a six-month shoot. COVID happened after the five months that we had been shooting, and everything got pushed, and when we came back, our five remaining weeks turned into 10," she recounted. "By the end of the whole thing, I'd been playing that character for over a year. And I really honestly went a bit mad. It was quite weird."
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Kate Winslet Sought Out 'Proper Help' After Filming
Kate Winslet revealed that she had to find 'proper help' after losing herself while filming 'Mare of Easttown.'
Winslet confessed it was the "only time" in her life that she had "to get some proper help to come back" to herself.
'It sounds completely insane, and even as I say it, I feel quite uncomfortable saying it, because I'm aware of how bonkers and indulgent that can sound," the A Little Chaos actress explained. "But what I am able to give both of my children is that level of support when they come out the other side."
Kate Winslet's Son Was In the Process of 'Re-entry'
Kate Winslet is currently supporting her son as he 're-enters' after filming an Apple TV+ series.
Winslet has three children: daughter Mia Honey with her first husband, Jim Threapleton; Anders with her second husband, Sam Mendes; and son Bear Blaze with her third husband, Edward Abel Smith.
She said Anders, 22, was a few months out of playing "an unbelievably disturbed role," and was still in the experience of "re-entry."
"I'm able to actively support my son in this moment, in his life. The mothering does kick in again on a very cellular level," she concluded.
