Several new interviews with Mary have been released discussing her new show BrainDead, premiering tonight on CBS. As always, click on each of the provided links to read the full interviews. The first one is with Parade Magazine:
Looking at your recent projects, you have BrainDead, Cloverfield Lane and The Returned. There seems to be this horror theme. Is there an appeal to these projects for you, or is it that they’re just the best roles out there for women right now?
I think it’s a bit of both. I always tend to come back to them, partly, because as a viewer, I’m very drawn to those stories. I always have been since I was a kid. I’ve always been a fan of the darker side of things when it comes to movies and TV. So I just love that genre.
But I also think that in terms of female protagonists, there are a lot of great roles within that genre of women really saving the day, getting to be the strong ones, and getting to be the ones leading the charge. I really like that. I like playing these characters, who when things crumble around them, they’re still standing at the end.
The second one comes from Esquire:
ESQ: This is a departure from your other TV work. Why did you want to do it?
Mary Elizabeth Winstead: I think that’s the main reason. I’d come off of doing a couple shows where it was very dramatic and a lot of emotion and a lot of crying—just very serious stuff everyday. I was really ready to just have fun and to show that side of myself. I enjoy being silly and being more than just that emotional side. When the script came, it was hard to say no to because it checked off every box of what I was looking to do at that moment.
Laurel notices something’s up almost immediately. Do you think that’s because she’s an outsider?
I think so. I think she also has this innate sense about her wherein she wants to get to the truth. That’s why she went off and tried to be a documentary filmmaker. She wants to surround herself with what she believes to be truthful and authentic things in her life. And when she gets to DC, it’s clear something is off and the truth is being hidden in some way. She has this need to scratch at the surface in some way. She wants to be good at her job and she wants to learn why it’s impossible to get things done in Washington.