Why Kate Winslet refused to have her sex scene edited in Mare of Easttown

Kate Winslet has won praise for her gritty portrayal in Mare of Easttown - now the actor has shared details on one of the show’s steamiest scenes.

Mare of Easttown has been praised for its grit and realism throughout and a large part of that is down to Kate Winslet’s character.

In a New York Times interview which dropped just hours after the series finale aired, Kate Winslet spoke about her portrayal of Detective Mare Sheehan.

The actor insisted the director Craig Zobel keep her character realistic and pushed back if that wasn’t the case. When Zobel assured her he would cut out “a bulgy bit of belly” in her sex scene with Guy Pearce, Winslet objected, saying “Don’t you dare!”

Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce in the Mare of Easttown.

The 45-year-old actor explained, “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 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.”

The Oscar winner also recalled sending back a retouched promo poster, telling the outlet she knows “how many lines I have by the side of my eye” and asked the designers to put them back in.

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Kate Winslet wouldn’t let the director edit her belly. Picture: Binge

Winslet told the publication that people watching may say, “Oh my God, how can she let herself look so unglamorous”, but she wanted to reflect her character’s burdens.

Don’t expect to see Winslet appear in nude scene any time soon, she also noted that she’s ready to put those days behind her.

“I think my days are getting a little bit numbered of doing nudity,” she said. “I’m just not comfortable doing it anywhere. It’s not even really an age thing, actually. There comes a point where people are going to go, “Oh, here she goes again.”

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The Mare of Easttown finale aired last night. Picture: HBO/Binge

Viewers tuned in last night to watch the much-anticipated final episode of the seven-part series. They didn’t seem disappointed with many taking to Twitter to express just how happy they were with the ending.