The actor says there’s a “point” to his role opposite Kate Winslet in the HBO drama.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you get involved with this project?
I went, “I’m in.”
Sarah Shatz/HBO
You just don’t say no when she calls.
She told me all about it.
We get on with work and we just move forward.
We keep on pushing through.
Because if we allow the vulnerability to sort of rise up, we fall apart.
And that’s made more difficult when you’re in a town where everyone knows everybody.
I’m lovable, really?"
Whereas an outsider, there’s no denying that he doesn’t know.
As much as she resists it, I think it’s a prerequisite that he is an outsider.
He’s got his own story as well and his own slightly wobbly history with women.
He’s a decent guy, but he’s a bit slightly confused about his own personal needs.
Or she knows, but she’s just not ready for it.
So, it takes a bit of work, and they’re both older people.
That’s what I liked about it.
I think his role is quite integral in her growth.
Her dates with Richard almost feel therapeutic.
So, where do you go from there?
I’m sure she’s going, “Okay.
I think it’s important, that idea.
There’s something about not knowing each other.
There are lines in the show about how she does not talk about her life to her immediate family.
She just doesn’t talk.
So when it’s a someone new, it forces her to talk.
Yeah, she’s a bit like a bloke in a way.
In that typical cliched way that men don’t talk about stuff.
I mean, Kate, she’s just brilliant.
She’s so brilliant.
You go, “But, is it a male thing to be bossy and arrogant and horrible?
Is that a male thing?
But Mare has done that a bit, just for self-preservation.
Mare of Easttownairs Sundays at 10 p.m.
