THE perfect GUY?
Hollywood star GUY PEARCE on his romantic new role in Mare of Easttown
DRAMA Mare of Easttown Hol Mon, Sky Atlantic HD, 9pm
MARE SHEEHAN’S LIFE continues to unravel as the US cop hunts for Erin Mcmenamin’s killer in this week’s episode of Mare of Easttown – but there is some good news on the horizon for the tough detective.
After meeting writer Richard Ryan (Guy Pearce) at a local bar in the small Pennsylvania town, Mare (Kate Winslet) agrees to join him for dinner and the pair grow closer as she opens up about her past.
FINDING HAPPINESS
‘Richard is an outsider who comes into Mare’s life,’ says Hollywood star Pearce, who’s appeared in Memento and The King’s Speech. ‘He charms her and reminds her that love is possible. He appears in her life and looks at her in a way that no one else has looked at her.’
Mare is haunted by the death of her son, Kevin, and also worries about losing her four-year-old grandson, Drew (Izzy King), in a custody battle with Drew’s addict mother (Sosie Bacon).
‘What I love about the show is how Mare isn’t a superhero cop,’
Pearce explains. ‘She’s a real woman with real family issues that she’s trying to deal with.
Mare is a strong woman, but she’s also extremely vulnerable, and Richard sees that. But Richard isn’t Mare’s saviour – in fact, he’s very fragile himself.’
On Richard’s advice, Mare seeks out a meeting with Drew’s mother, who’s finally got herself clean after a long stretch in rehab. But when things don’t go as she’d hoped, the detective takes a drastic step that has far-reaching consequences.
‘The show is an exploration of how the world people inhabit can consume them,’ says Pearce. ‘It reminds us that we need to step back and get a bit of perspective.’
Pearce previously starred alongside Winslet in 2011 miniseries Mildred Pierce and jumped at the chance to work with her again. He even lived with his co-star for six weeks during filming due to pandemic protocols.
‘The world of Mare is very different to the world of Mildred, but working with Kate again was amazing,’ he smiles. ‘We have the same birthday – 5 October – and as we were living together we had a couple of glasses of champagne to celebrate.’