Author:

Jessica

A brand new photo shoot with Mary has been released for Contents Magazine! Along with the gorgeous new photos, Mary also did an interview & I have posted some highlights from it below. Be sure to head to the gallery to check out the beautiful new photos in high quality!

Are there any particular narratives that you find yourself gravitating towards?

I always need to be able to feel an emotional pull towards a story, and to understand it on some sort of deeper level than might appear on the surface. It always changes depending on where I am at in my life. As I get older, universal themes resonate with me like love, loss and parenthood- A Gentleman in Moscow is a perfect example of that. It’s this sweeping epic but ultimately it’s about the simplest of connections and how much they mean in our lives.

You act alongside your husband in A Gentleman in Moscow. What has it been like to work with your partner?

It’s truly a joy in every way. He is my favorite actor, and the person I love to be around the most. Having the opportunity to become the Count and Anna together felt like a real privilege- to be acting together and in roles that lit us both up as artists; there’s really nothing better.

How do you think the historical costuming in the show contributes to its broader themes?

Our costume designer Sam Perry did such an incredible job. The attention to detail is stunning and adds so much to the authenticity of every moment. I could not have felt like Anna without Anna’s clothes- it was integral to everything. When I put them on, I felt the history of the garments in a way that aided me so much in bringing her to life.

Has the historical costuming influenced or inspired your own style in any ways?

I definitely took a few of the pieces home with me, and I honestly wish I could dress like that every day. Modern life doesn’t quite allow for it from a practical standpoint though, which is unfortunate.

You play an actress in the show. Has any of your own personal experience informed how you approach the character?

There are definitely moments in the show where we focus on Anna’s career and the affects on her emotionally as she goes through various ups and downs. It was all incredibly relatable. The stakes for Anna are so much higher than I could ever imagine, as being in or out of favor could have such dire ramifications for her. Somehow Sam and Ben managed to keep those stakes but also make her journey feel very current and relevant to so many of the conversations around women in the industry now. It resonated with me so much, and I was thrilled to explore that in the show.

I have added some new photos of Mary from late last month when she was in Canada doing a press stop for ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’. During her 2 day trip to Canada, Mary did 16 interviews in five different locations, plus a special screening event and celebratory party at The Paradise on Bloor. Head to the gallery to see the new photos!

Additionally, while Mary was there, she also did a great new podcast interview which you can listen to by clicking HERE.

With A Gentleman in Moscow streaming on Paramount+, a brand new photoshoot Mary did with The New York Times has been released. The shoot was done when Mary and Ewan were in NYC earlier this month on March 11. Be sure to head to the gallery to check out the new pics! If anymore get added, I will update this post. Below, I’ve also posted some excerpts from the interview, but you can read the interview in full by clicking the link above.

How did you get involved with “A Gentleman in Moscow”?
MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: You [Ewan] had hinted, cheekily, that there was a great female character in there. Reading the book, I just thought, ‘Oh my God, what a great, juicy opportunity that would be to play her.’ But I was very tentative because the last thing I wanted was to try to win a role and then have somebody think I was trying to get something out of being married to you. I just wanted to quietly say, “I think it’s a great role if you think I’m right for it.”

What about Anna? Is she a good actress?

WINSTEAD Anna believes that she is. I do think she takes it very seriously. It’s something positive in her life that gives her a sense of purpose. She does hang in there, even if she’s not always a star. That has to count for something.

They have a superb meet-cute, when the count tames Anna’s Russian wolfhounds. What’s their initial attraction?

WINSTEAD I instantly find him very intriguing. The way that he handles my dogs, it sparks a little something. Our repartee makes me further intrigued. Then hearing about him and knowing that he’s imprisoned in this hotel, the mystery is interesting to me as a woman who gets bored very easily by most men that I’m around. Over time, that leads to much, much more.

It’s so lovely how much time it takes. It’s many years into their relationship before they realize they’re in love. There’s something beautiful about that slow progression. Especially for Anna. She resists that feeling. But it hits her like a wave.

Mary, earlier you alluded to a downside of working together, in that people might think you were offered a role for reasons other than your talent.

WINSTEAD Of course, there’s always going to be one person on the internet who makes that comment, but I’m secure enough to not worry about that because I know the truth, which is that people want to work with me. When we were first together, I was up for a role in something that he was in. They were worried we would bring some sort of drama to the set, which we thought was very funny because we’re not very dramatic people. But you have to let time deal with that. Now it’s clear that we’re a pretty levelheaded couple, that we’re not going around smashing vases. Other than that, it’s really been just upsides, which is that people who know us and like our work are happy and excited to put us together occasionally, which is a really lucky thing for us.

MCGREGOR There’s no downside in terms of actually doing it. It’s only great to go to work together, get to work together, come home together. It’s as good as it could be, really.

In 24 hours, Mary’s new limited series ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ will begin streaming on Paramount+ and with the premiere just hours away, a couple more interviews are still being released. The first one is a new video interview with The Toronto Sun:

Next, Mary did an interview with Yahoo! where she spoke about what drew her to the character of Anna.

“She’s a real hustler, a real survivor, and those are the kinds of people that I love to play, because they’re so interesting, and they’re so active, and they’re never really just sitting back and letting life happen to them. They’re always trying to think about how they can kind of advance. When I signed on to the show, I think I only had the first couple episodes to read, … and how Anna was going to be presented in the show, … I thought, … ‘This is so much fun,'” Winstead said. “To get to be this brash, brazen woman who’s fully in her diva confidence, it’s not really the way that we get to behave in real life. So it’s really liberating to step into someone’s shoes like that.”

“I certainly could see myself in her, in terms of her being an artist that has to navigate an industry that’s not always about the art, there’s so many other things at play. There were things about her I could relate to, and then other things that I could just really empathize with, and made me really love her.”

You can read her full interview here.

Mary and Ewan also did a video interview where they talked about working together and talked about what their son is currently into. It’s so cute! So happy for them. Their portion of the interview begins around the 6:05 mark.

While at the Toronto premiere earlier this week, Mary was also asked why she thought viewers might sympathize with Ewan’s character and enjoy watching the show:

“It’s about the connection of people in the smallest of ways where you really go into the microcosm on what these people go through in their day-to-day lives. I do think that people are searching for connection right now. There is a feeling of isolation for a lot of people, and I think that the show does speak to that. We’re in a world where we’ve come out of a pandemic, and we’re watching a man who is isolated in his own way, who has to learn to find connection again with humanity and closeness. I hope that people come away feeling hopeful and that it makes them feel a certain warmth towards their loved ones, neighbours, and people who are within their direct orbit.”

In another interview with The Canadian Press, the two stars talked about why they each loved working with one another:

And finally, a character poster of Mary as her character film actress Anna Urbanova has been released. I have added it to the gallery. Anyone else super excited for the show to finally begin? 🙂