Flyers

Kate Winslet Says Learning Delco Was One of the “Hardest Accents I’ve Ever Done”

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Feb 18th, 2021 · 10:11 AM EST

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There’s a new HBO series coming out in April which stars Kate Winslet as a detective based in Easttown, PA. That’s in Chester County, just south of the Devon and Berwyn area.

It’s very close to the Delco border, and as such, Winslet learned a “Delco” accent for the part, which perhaps involved her visiting Rita’s, Pica’s, or Imperial Pizza out there in the great unincorporated community of Secane.

Winslet is British, and as such, picking up that accent was always going to be a challenge. During a recent panel event, she said it was one of the hardest she’s had to learn.

Here’s the blurb from IndieWire:

Speaking in a virtual panel alongside writer Brad Ingelsby and director Craig Zobel, Winslet said getting into this character coming off of “Ammonite” was a challenge, particularly learning the Delaware County accent.

“It was up there with the hardest accents I’ve ever done, in the top three for sure,” Winslet said. “It’s one of only two dialects in my life that made me throw things — that and the dialogue that they made me do in the movie about Steve Jobs.”

“The Delaware County accent is known as one of the more difficult accents, and Kate did a great job,” Zobel said, before Ingelsby — whose wife grew up in the area  — seconded her accomplishment.

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Winslet said she spent several months working with local Pennsylvania police departments, including those in the real county of Easttown, PA, just outside of Philadelphia.

Additionally, I’m told Winslet bought Flyers season tickets to really immerse herself in Delco culture. She watched road games at the Stanley Kup Inn and ordered wings from Hunt’s Annex Lounge on MacDade Boulevard.

Here’s the trailer:

Kate Winslet stars in Mare of Easttown – premiering April 18 on HBO. pic.twitter.com/kSYDj5cag6

— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) February 17, 2021