Why Was It Difficult to Find Her Character's Voice on The Regime? Kate Winslet Explains

Summary

• Despite the audience's anticipation, The Regime was buried under other TV premieres.
• Kate Winslet developed a special voice for her character.
• Practicing the voice proved to be difficult for the actress.

This spring was brimming with exciting TV releases. From Fallout to the second installment of American Horror Story: Delicate to the third season of Bridgerton, there were plenty of shows to keep us entertained over the past few months. And amidst this flurry of premieres, we almost forgot about HBO's long-awaited satire starring Kate Winslet, The Regime, which follows the corrupt, authoritarian chancellor of a European country played by the Oscar-winning actress.

Objectively speaking, there were several reasons why The Regime flew largely under our radar. Although it was highly anticipated, it didn't live up to the high expectations many viewers had.

HBO's satirical miniseries was relatively well received, with a modest 6.2 rating on IMDb. Given that it stars Kate Winslet as Chancellor Elena Vernham, the result is unfortunate – especially considering how much effort the actress put into portraying her character.

Kate Winslet Created a Special Voice for Elena Vernham

According to Kate Winslet, as soon as she was introduced to her character on The Regime, she understood that she couldn't give Elena her regular voice. The voice of the somewhat frenetic and cunning chancellor had to reflect the idiosyncrasies of her personality. So the actress came up with the slightly flirtatious, manipulative tone you hear on the show.

Finding that voice wasn't easy. Originally, Kate Winslet practiced it at home, but her family quickly objected, saying it hurt their ears. So the actress came up with a brilliant solution to keep practicing the voice before presenting it to The Regime's executive producer and director, the legendary Sir Stephen Frears. Winslet left voicemails for the other EP and director, Jessica Hobbs, in the voice of Elena Vernham.

'I knew [Stephen Frears] was just going to have an opinion, and once it was out of his mouth, I wouldn't be able to unhear it, and so I shared it with Jess [Hobbs], who was very positive in her response,' Kate Winslet revealed in a recent interview.

The presentation of the voice went smoothly and the actress was able to explain her vocal manipulations and how they fit the character. Clearly, Frears appreciated the technique.

'Luckily, he was laughing. He looked at me, and he said, "You've got to do that for six months [of filming],"' Winselt said of his response.

The Regime is fully available for streaming on Max.

Source: People.