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.