For this reason, the Paramount Plus<\/a> adaptation of Amor Towles\u2019s well-received novel feels like a departure for Winstead. Unlike Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (one of her few period credits), there\u2019s no cheeky genre twist to this historical tale. On the contrary, it\u2019s a surprisingly earnest and heartfelt story following characters across several decades in the early-to-mid 20th century \u2013 set against the backdrop of a dangerous, changing Russia.<\/p>\n Winstead co-stars as glamorous actor Anna Urbanova, playing opposite real-life husband Ewan McGregor, who portrays the book\u2019s chief protagonist Count Alexander Rostov. The aristocrat is an unwelcome presence in his own country following the October Revolution, with authorities permitting him to live under strict house arrest in a Moscow hotel. Setting one foot outside would be a death sentence and so he decides to make the best of his imprisonment by getting to know some of the souls passing through.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re really focusing on what\u2019s going on in the sort of micro sense,\u201d explains Winstead in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com<\/a>. \u201cWe know we\u2019re in this era of time in Russia and there\u2019s a certain heaviness to that, but we\u2019re really just trying to show these people and their connections and what that means to them.\u201d<\/p>\n An expansive set was built for the production, which makes the Count\u2019s forced home a character in and of itself. There\u2019s a disarming sense of whimsy and intrigue to the place that you wouldn\u2019t necessarily expect, which is occasionally overwhelmed by a stark reminder of the hostile reality. Winstead praised the immersive environment, describing it as \u201cso exciting\u201d to \u201crevel in that world\u201d and \u201cfully inhabit\u201d the inner life of her character.<\/p>\n Although \u201cby no means\u201d a method actor, she does cite a \u201ckind of blending\u201d that often occurs when playing a role for an extended period of time. In the case of Anna, the two share a career, which resonated particularly strongly in the scripts.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a personality, she\u2019s so much larger than life. So in that sense, she\u2019s very different from me,\u201d said Winstead. \u201cBut I was very impressed with the writing\u2026 they really did capture what it feels like to be an actress in so many ways. And it felt very true to her being this woman of that time period, but also incredibly current and relatable for me as a woman now. So I was really blown away with every script. I was sort of like, \u2018God, how are they capturing this so accurately?’\u201d<\/p>\n Although this is the third project on which Winstead and McGregor are both credited, it represents their first time working together as established \u201cpartners\u201d. The two had only just met on Fargo<\/a> season 3, while her troubled vigilante Huntress and his menacing villain Black Mask didn\u2019t actually have any scenes together in 2020 superhero flick Birds of Prey<\/a>. Therefore, A Gentleman in Moscow felt like an entirely distinct experience.<\/p> Winstead continued: \u201cWe have this level of comfort that is really incredible \u2013 to get to walk onto set and just know you have complete and total trust in your acting partner. I mean, that\u2019s an incredible feeling. That\u2019s something that you always hope for \u2013 and sometimes you get it to a certain degree \u2013 but I\u2019ve certainly never felt it to this level, where it really was seamless.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no pretence, there\u2019s no worry\u2026 about saying the wrong thing, or making the wrong choice, it\u2019s just absolute comfort. And that also is to do with Sam [Miller], our director, who had the lightest touch and you just felt like he was a fly on the wall. So we got to just come in and be these characters together and play together, which is just what we love to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite this level of connection, the couple still opted to use an intimacy coordinator in romance scenes between Anna and the Count, which McGregor first revealed in an interview<\/a> with\u00a0Radio Times\u00a0<\/strong>magazine. He said it was \u201cnecessary\u201d to ensure the crew felt safe as well as the actors involved, comparing the much-discussed role to a dance choreographer. In our chat, Winstead revealed that the decision to utilise such an expert here came from above their heads \u2013 but she spoke highly of the collaboration.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, for us, we probably would have said it wasn\u2019t necessary,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it was something that was brought on board, it was a choice made by the studio. It was my first time experiencing working with an intimacy coordinator and even though, for us, it might have seemed a bit over the top \u2013 like, obviously, we\u2019re comfortable with one another, we\u2019re married \u2013 it still was great to know that that\u2019s kind of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n McGregor observed that, without intimacy coordinators, young women who are just starting out in their career \u2013 like his very own daughter \u2013 could be pressured into scenes they later regret. Winstead also fully supports the concept, having navigated the early years of her career long before the role had become an industry standard.<\/p>\n She continued: \u201cIt was an incredible thing to have that comfort of knowing this is what film sets are going to be like now, especially for young actors coming up who might feel uncomfortable speaking out when they feel something isn\u2019t right. Just to have somebody checking in and saying, \u2018How is this level of comfort for you?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it wasn\u2019t just about Ewan and I, our interaction, but also about what clothing is going to be shown or not shown? Or how much skin do you feel comfortable showing? All of those things that, when I was a younger actress, I found so difficult to have those conversations because I never had anyone on my side. So I think that that\u2019s just going to have a huge impact.\u201d<\/p>\n Intimacy aside, a \u201cdifficult\u201d aspect of depicting Anna and the Count\u2019s relationship proved to be its darker moments, with sad scenes naturally carrying more weight when they\u2019re unfolding with someone you actually love. Emotions ran so high that Winstead found she had to \u201creally rein in\u201d her performance in order to ensure her character remained consistent and authentic.<\/p>\n \u201cNormally you\u2019re trying to sort of find [the emotion] in the scene. And so it was interesting to have a scene where we both just couldn\u2019t stop crying,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAnd I was thinking, \u2018Maybe this isn\u2019t right for the scene\u2019. I have to think about the character, and would she be crying this much? But it was really difficult to not be a total emotional wreck. So that was interesting as an acting experience to feel that\u2026 a horrible but beautiful thing to go through.\u201d<\/p>\n On a lighter note, I can\u2019t resist getting Winstead\u2019s opinion on a minor pet peeve of some viewers. A Gentleman in Moscow is set in Russia and follows Russian characters, yet the two leads speak English in what can only be described as \u2018received pronunciation\u2019. While most can suspend their disbelief, it\u2019s sure to rile up some history buffs looking for peak authenticity. So, what gives?<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you look at all forms of entertainment, there\u2019s no \u2018right way\u2019 to do anything,\u201d she countered. \u201cAnd I think, for people who are maybe more open-minded and are willing to have that little element of fantasy\u2026 you\u2019re going to find that it does feel very real and true to the period and to the place.\u201d<\/p>\n Winstead added: \u201cUltimately, if there was an attempt for everyone to do Russian accents or something \u2013 for me, I think that might feel a bit overdone, a bit heavy-handed. So everyone has a different opinion, it\u2019s a taste thing for me. And if you look at theatre and all the different ways that we tell stories, there\u2019s so many different ways to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd people of all walks of life can portray a character from history with any kind of accent they want to bring to it. And it doesn\u2019t mean that they can\u2019t embody the feeling of that person. So I think it\u2019s great to be able to have a project where we\u2019re experimenting with that and having fun with it and seeing what comes out of that experimentation.\u201d<\/p>\n A Gentleman in Moscow premieres on Paramount Plus on Friday 29th March 2024. <\/strong>Get a seven-day free Paramount Plus trial via Amazon Prime Video<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Check out more of our Drama<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> and Streaming Guide<\/a> to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to\u00a0The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/b><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n The star discusses her latest role in Paramount Plus drama A Gentleman in Moscow. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":48193,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/mary-elizabeth-winstead-backs-using-intimacy-coordinator-for-ewan-mcgregor-scenes.jpg",2000,1328,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/mary-elizabeth-winstead-backs-using-intimacy-coordinator-for-ewan-mcgregor-scenes-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/mary-elizabeth-winstead-backs-using-intimacy-coordinator-for-ewan-mcgregor-scenes-300x199.jpg",300,199,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/mary-elizabeth-winstead-backs-using-intimacy-coordinator-for-ewan-mcgregor-scenes-768x510.jpg",768,510,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/mary-elizabeth-winstead-backs-using-intimacy-coordinator-for-ewan-mcgregor-scenes-1024x680.jpg",800,531,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/mary-elizabeth-winstead-backs-using-intimacy-coordinator-for-ewan-mcgregor-scenes-1536x1020.jpg",1536,1020,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2024\/03\/mary-elizabeth-winstead-backs-using-intimacy-coordinator-for-ewan-mcgregor-scenes.jpg",2000,1328,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The star discusses her latest role in Paramount Plus drama A Gentleman in Moscow.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/48192"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Anna](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/AGIM102230323BB0437RT-2c938ff.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"An")
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