Kate Winslet has discussed how emotionally challenging it was to portray characters struggling with mental health issues. She shared that she once experienced a breakdown and sought professional help to cope with the impact of these roles.
The 50-year-old Academy Award winner recently shared how playing intense, emotional characters has affected her personally. She revealed that she once needed professional help to distance herself from a role.
Kate explained on the Lessons from Our Mothers podcast that actors sometimes experience something she hesitates to mention because it can sound self-absorbed.
I’ve always been captivated by Kate Winslet’s performances, and honestly, when she takes on a truly challenging role – like Mare Sheehan in Easttown, which completely floored me – it feels like she really has to rebuild herself afterward. It’s like the intensity of the character takes a toll, and she needs time to recover and find her footing again.
I think of it as a re-entry – getting back to your own life, reconnecting with friends, and falling back into the familiar routines of family. It’s about moving past a chapter, letting go of a role, and leaving things behind.
It genuinely takes time to move past playing a character, particularly one you’ve embodied for an extended period – and that’s common with long-running TV shows.
Kate Winslet said her role in the HBO series Mare of Easttown was the most challenging and emotionally draining of her career.
In the 2021 HBO drama, Kate played a detective in Pennsylvania who was investigating a murder while also struggling with difficult personal issues, such as a divorce and the loss of her son to suicide.
‘It was meant to be a six month shoot,’ she explained.
As a lifestyle expert, I’ve seen firsthand how quickly things can change! We were five months into filming when COVID hit, and everything came to a standstill. When we were finally able to resume, what we thought would be five more weeks of work actually stretched into ten. It was a real testament to adapting and being flexible!
After playing that character for more than a year, I started to feel a little crazy. It was a strange experience.
She explained that it was the first and only time she’d ever needed to seek professional help to regain her sense of self.
It sounds crazy, and I hesitate to even say it because I know how ridiculous it might seem.
Kate’s candid confession comes as her son Joe, 21, follows in her footsteps into the industry.
Joe, the son of film director Sam Mendes and his ex-wife, recently wrapped up filming the Apple TV+ series Cape Fear in Atlanta. His mother described his role as deeply unsettling.
As someone who’s been through a tough time myself, I’ve really been able to focus on giving my son the kind of support I wish I’d received when I was first starting out. It’s amazing how personal experience can shape how you parent and help you connect with your kids on a deeper level.
She explained that he’s only been adjusting for a few months and is still going through the process of getting back to normal.
I can really be there for my son right now, and it’s amazing how deeply maternal instincts resurface – it feels almost instinctive and physical.
Let’s enjoy some good food, a nice walk, and maybe even a swim. If you don’t feel like talking today, that’s perfectly okay. Want to just stay in bed? That’s fine too. You don’t have to do anything at all, and that’s okay – it’s alright to just rest and be comfortable.
Kate is married to Edward Abel Smith, who is the nephew of businessman Sir Richard Branson. She has two children from previous relationships: a 25-year-old daughter named Mia, who is an actress, and a 12-year-old son named Bear, with Edward.
Oh my gosh, so they asked Kate on the podcast if she ever, like, guides her kids about acting, and her answer was just so… Kate! She said she never offers advice unless they specifically ask for it. It’s just… she lets them figure things out for themselves, which is amazing, honestly. She’s not one of those stage moms, and I love her for it! It’s just so respectful of their choices, and I’m completely obsessed with how she parents. Seriously, she’s perfect.
When it comes to the actors, they’re very self-sufficient – they don’t need me to tell them what to do, they just perform. I really appreciate that, because that’s how I always worked too.
Acting is a deeply personal journey, and every actor approaches it in their own unique way. I believe in giving them the space to work through that process independently.
Last month, Kate faced backlash after she dismissed the term “nepo baby” – used for children of celebrities who are pursuing careers similar to their parents – calling it unimportant and foolish.
In an interview with the BBC before the release of her first film as a director, ‘Goodbye June’ (written by her son, Joe), she stated that her children aren’t receiving any unfair advantages in their professional lives.
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2026-01-26 20:49