Kate Winslet's Accent In HBO's Mare Of Eastdown Was A Frustrating Challenge For Her

Actor Kate Winslet stars in the upcoming HBO limited crime drama Mare of Eastdown, premiering on April 18. And one of Winslet's biggest challenges was nailing the Delco accent, which represents Delaware County, in Pennsylvania.

The accent is very specific and tough to nail, and it drove Winslet crazy, as she explained during a TCA winter press tour conference for the upcoming HBO series. While figuring out how exactly to pronounce something that should be as simple as "water," Winslet was worried about completely sounding authentic. "The thing that was hardest for me, of course, was to do it well enough that you kind of shouldn't hear the actor doing it.

"I always hate that when you can hear someone doing a voice or doing an accent, and that's one of the things for me that is more important than anything is just making it just disappear and blend in. So I did spend a long time working with a coach and working with people locally as well."

Nailing the accent was one of the toughest of her career. "It was up there amongst the hardest accents I've ever done," Winslet explained. "I'd say it's up there in the top three, for sure, but it adds so much to Mare, the character. I didn't want to come up with something that was sort of generalized and make a few kind of token sounds that were a nod in the direction of the Delco dialect. I wanted her to really feel as though she had been born and raised there, which is the truth."

Winslet revealed that part of what really helped her was actually audio Mare of Eastdown writer Brad Ingelsby sent her of his wife having casual conversations, as Brad's wife is from the area where the limited series takes place.

"It was one of the only two dialects in my life that has actually made me throw things," Winslet joked. "I don't get mad, but oh my god, that dialect and the dialect I had to do in the movie about Steve Jobs--that was another one I'd be like, 'Oh my god, they're gonna fire me. I'm gonna get fired.'"

Winslet's role in Mare of Eastdown is Mare Sheehan, a detective from a small town in Pennsylvania who is wrapped up in a local murder investigation. However, her own life is crumbling around her. According to HBO, the series is "an exploration into the dark side of a close community and an authentic examination of how family and past tragedies can define our present."