Based on Amor Towles’ bestselling novel, the Showtime restricted sequence A Gentleman in Moscow tells the story of Russian aristocrat Count Alexander Rostov (Ewan McGregor), who discovered himself banished to the attic room of the Hotel Metropol and threatened with execution on the order of a Bolshevik tribunal. With his life contained inside the partitions of the opulent resort and the years after the Russian Revolution persevering with to cross, the Count builds a life, friendships, and love from inside. By not having the ability to go outdoors and expertise the bigger universe, the Count takes a journey of emotional discovery that provides him a unique perspective on the world and the individuals round him.

In the story, Mary Elizabeth Winstead performs Anna Urbanova, an actress trying to make a reputation for herself in Russian cinema and whose large persona simply attracts curiosity from Rostov, sparking a deep and significant love affair throughout the years. As their relationship deepens, it’s enjoyable for the viewers to observe Winstead and McGregor work with one another, in each playful and fairly emotional moments.

During this one-on-one interview with Collider, Winstead talked about how fortunate she felt to have the ability to work along with her husband whereas enjoying such an unimaginable position, increasing the character from what’s in the pages of the guide, how liberating it was to play somebody so assured, the best way the wardrobe knowledgeable her efficiency, what she and McGregor love about working with one another, and determining the accent. She additionally talked about returning for Season 2 of Ahsoka, and the way she’d prefer to discover a mission that may be a mix of humorous and heartfelt.

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Russian aristocrat is spared from loss of life and positioned on home arrest whereas the Bolshevik Revolution performs out earlier than him.

Release Date

March 29, 2024

Main Genre

Drama

Seasons

1

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Says Kismet Brought Her To ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ with Husband Ewan McGregor

Collider: Aside from the apparent of attending to work along with your husband, Ewan McGregor, when this mission got here your approach, did you learn the guide first or did you learn a script first, and what was the factor that actually grabbed you and made you need to do it? Was it one thing with the story that you simply related to, or was it this character particularly?

MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD: Everything, actually. I learn the guide first, primarily as a result of it was one thing that Ewan was gonna be doing and I used to be actually enthusiastic about it for him. I’d heard loads concerning the guide. I used to be conversant in it. It seemed like probably the most unimaginable alternative for him to play this position in this stunning piece, and since he learn it first, he hinted to me, “There is a lady in there that’s very interesting.” But I actually didn’t know from his feedback whether or not she was any individual who was on three pages of the guide, or who she was. And so, once I learn the guide and I received to know all of the characters and the world, I simply thought, “Oh, my God, what an unimaginable alternative, to be this type of girl, in this place, in this time, and in this extremely epic story.”

So, I threw my hat in the ring very casually as a result of I wished the present to be nice. If they didn’t assume I used to be the precise individual for it, I didn’t need them to decide on me as a result of Ewan was enjoying the lead. I wished them to decide on me as a result of they thought I used to be proper for Anna. I simply threw my hat in the ring and mentioned, “Look, I think this could be a great role, if you think I’m right for it.” And then, some months glided by, and phrase got here again that they had been in me enjoying the half. It was simply a type of actually great kismet issues that got here collectively. It doesn’t all the time occur like this, to discover a mission like this, that’s so stunning, and to have the ability to do it with my husband, and to have a task that I completely love. It was only a actually fortunate factor.

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Because your character is expanded from what was in the guide, did you understand how she could be labored into the sequence?

WINSTEAD: I didn’t, in any respect. I received to learn the primary two episodes, as a result of I wasn’t even in the primary one, going into it, and thought, “Oh, my God, what a fun, fantastic woman that I get to be.” I used to be actually enthusiastic about it, simply from that. The sketch was outlined so fantastically in the guide of their love story, however the particulars of it are generally left off the web page in the novel, so I didn’t know the way detailed they had been gonna get with it on the present, and I used to be blown away. With each script that got here by means of, I simply thought, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe I get to play these beautiful scenes, and this woman is becoming more and more complex and distinct with every page.” I used to be actually grateful.

She’s a little bit of a whirlwind. She undoubtedly makes an impression each time she comes right into a room, and also you make fairly an entrance into the sequence with these canines inflicting chaos across the eating room. How do you are feeling that entrance actually kind of represents who the character is? And did it’s important to spend a lot time with these canines?

WINSTEAD: The approach that it’s depicted on the present was so nice as a result of they actually managed to make it appear like it was utter chaos. In actuality, these canines had been the sweetest, calmest canines. You simply wished to cuddle up with them and take a nap. They had been so pretty. And it was primarily shot in separate items. Most of the time, I wasn’t actually with the canines. It’s an incredible take a look at nice enhancing as a result of it’s so nice to observe and it feels so chaotic and actual once you take a look at it. It was simply improbable. I discover it so liberating to play characters like that, with that form of confidence after they stroll right into a room, as a result of that’s actually not the best way that I’d stroll right into a room, however I like to get to do it on a TV present. It’s superb.

Wardrobe Played a Huge Role in Defining Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ Character

The type of clothes in that is simply completely stunning. What was this wardrobe prefer to put on? How did that inform the character for you, even in simply the best way you walked?

WINSTEAD: Oh, it’s large. Wardrobe all the time makes an enormous distinction, simply with each factor coming collectively – the hair, the make-up, the footwear, the coat. You can’t actually follow the physicality of a personality, for me anyway. It simply comes collectively once you’re on set that first day and all the weather are there, and the units are there, and all the pieces begins to really feel very actual. And then, all of the sudden you’re strolling in a different way, and all of it feels such as you’re a complete new girl, and I cherished being that girl. I cherished the best way that knowledgeable the character and made me really feel so comfy in my pores and skin. Playing this type of trendy girl in a time that was not very trendy in any respect, it simply felt actually great to be that courageous. I cherished it.

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How did you are feeling concerning the blonde hair, and what did you consider Ewan’s mustache?

WINSTEAD: For each of us, these particulars add a unique piece to your persona and you are feeling completely different. I felt extra charming and seductive in my blonde wig, and he felt witty and quirky in the mustache. It was simply a lot enjoyable. It appears like play. You’re getting to actually go into a brand new world and be a unique individual and play with the actors round you. That’s the last word for an actor. It’s one of the best.

Chemistry is a type of unusual and undefinable issues, however it’s straightforward to acknowledge once you see it. At the identical time, simply because you could have chemistry with somebody in actual life, it’s not essentially assured how that may translate on movie. How did you discover the expertise of working collectively on this? What did you most get pleasure from about how he approaches the work and what he brings to the scenes that you simply guys shared collectively?

WINSTEAD: Because we met working collectively, that was actually the muse of attending to know each other. We have this very deep respect for one another, in phrases of our work and the best way that we method it as a result of we’re so related with out actually ever articulating something to 1 one other. We simply present up and do it. We simply click on as a result of we’ve such related sensibilities and such a love for the work and an pleasure about it. That sparks the onscreen chemistry for us loads. We love that and had been having a lot enjoyable. That’s one of the best, when you could have a scene companion who’s in the scene and loving being in it with you and loving connecting in that approach. It lifts it up a lot. And there’s no one that’s extra enjoyable to behave with than him, and that will be true whether or not he was my husband or not.

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It looks like it might undoubtedly make the romantic scenes simpler, however once you’re doing scenes which can be very emotional, does it make these simpler too, or is that tougher?

WINSTEAD: It was each, in a approach. It was a lot simpler. The emotion was simply flowing on a regular basis as a result of it was so on the floor, however it was tougher to manage it, in a approach. That was the one factor that I’ve by no means skilled earlier than. I feel I’m fairly practiced, as an actor, at having the emotion, however dampening it down. Often that’s what we’re attempting to do, since you don’t wanna be in hysterics on display screen. That’s not actual. People usually attempt to cover their feelings or they attempt to hold it inside. It was tougher for me to try this on this. The emotion would simply effectively up, and I’d be going in my head going, “No, pull it back.” That was an attention-grabbing factor to have occur as a result of that was a very new expertise for me to not must not really feel like I used to be in full management over that.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ Character is a Bold Woman Following Her Desires

All this time passes after the primary romantic encounter that these two individuals share. I significantly cherished how she advised him that it was simply just because he by no means got here calling. Was it refreshing to play a lady who has a way of company like that?

WINSTEAD: Oh, completely. It was a blast to play her. She’s enjoying with him, however it’s additionally trustworthy. It’s simply who she is. It was a lot enjoyable to only go, “I don’t feel like speaking to you this year, or next year, or the following year. But now, if you’re coming around, absolutely, I feel like it.” She’s following her wishes, which was a really daring factor for any time interval, actually. It’s daring to observe a lady doing that, and it was a lot enjoyable to play her, in that approach.

How did you method the accent? Was it straightforward to determine the way you wished to deal with that, or did you retain working on it all through the shoot?

WINSTEAD: It was an attention-grabbing one as a result of I went into it not understanding what they had been going to need. Most of the characters in it are supposed to be Russian, however no one actually is and nobody was gonna be doing a Russian accent. I knew that Ewan was gonna be doing a complicated English accent, simply to convey that aristocracy. The thought was that it might be largely British accents, however even by means of a British accent, you’re attempting to convey the place any individual may come from, in phrases of their class. For me, they actually let me off the hook. We had been all imagined to be Russian, so there’s a little bit little bit of suspended disbelief there, so the accent didn’t must be excellent. We’re imagined to be Russian, so we had been simply going for what we thought was proper for the character, and I went for a unfastened British accent. I felt like she wouldn’t be very posh sounding as a result of she’s not posh. She didn’t come from that form of background. We don’t know what her background is, and she or he makes it up, half the time. That gave me lots of freedom to be considerably unfastened along with her accent and to make her who I wished her to be.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is Excited to Return for Season 2 of ‘Ahsoka’

It’s been formally confirmed that Ahsoka Season 2 is in growth with Dave Filoni. When do you get clued in on what’s going to occur? Have they already given you a primary thought? Do they wait till scripts are completed and able to be despatched to the actors? How totally shaped is it earlier than they inform you?

WINSTEAD: I’d say they wait till it’s fairly totally shaped. I’ve spent a little bit time with Dave, and he’s forthcoming, in phrases of his concepts, however that’s not essentially what’s now on the web page. So, I don’t know, actually, what that’s but. I’m actually excited to learn some scripts to search out out the place all the pieces goes, however I’m just about in the darkish, in phrases of what the concrete scripts are gonna be and what the story is gonna be.

Do you understand what you’re going to be doing subsequent? Are you going to do one thing else earlier than Season 2 of Ahsoka?

WINSTEAD: I hope so. I’m undoubtedly a couple of issues and attempting to determine what the following factor is gonna be. I’ve time earlier than probably capturing one other season of that to do one thing hopefully nice. So, I’m on the lookout for it.

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Do you could have a dream mission that you simply haven’t finished, or a style that you simply’d nonetheless like to work in?

WINSTEAD: I’m undoubtedly in the temper to do one thing a bit comedic. Obviously, there’s comedic parts in A Gentleman in Moscow, so I received to try this a bit, however I do really feel like leaning extra into that. Something that’s humorous and heartfelt on the similar time is my favourite factor, so I’m searching for that, however it could possibly be the precise reverse of that. It’s simply no matter strikes me, in the second. We’ll see. I don’t know. I’m open to all the pieces, in the mean time.

A Gentleman in Moscow airs on Showtime and is obtainable to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Paramount+