Kate Winslet Opens Up About the ‘Absurd’ Sex Scenes in Provocative New Series The Regime and Shares How One Co-Star Left Her Terrified

Kate Winslet has discussed the ‘absurd’ sex scenes in her new black comedy The Regime, where she plays the tyrannical dictator of a fictional European country. 

The actress, 48, spoke about her character Elena Vernham’s raunchy escapades with Corporal Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) after previously revealing cast and crew had to be sent off set for laughing. 

Kate told The Times that while intimacy co-ordinators were available, with one hysterical scene featuring her shouting ‘no biting!, she felt totally at ease in her co-stars company – after previously working together in 2014’s A Little Chaos. 

Telling the publication: ‘To be honest, Matthias and I know each other, so we have a shorthand and a trust that we’ve had for over a decade.’

Meanwhile Belgian actor Matthias, 46, admitted he did everything he could to frighten Kate during more dramatic scenes, as well as his onscreen clashes with his political enemy played by Hugh Grant .  

Kate Winslet, 48, has discussed the ‘absurd’ sex scenes in her new black comedy The Regime, where she plays the tyrannical dictator of a fictional European country 

The actress spoke about her character Elena Vernham’s raunchy escapades with Corporal Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) after previously revealing cast and crew had to be sent off set for laughing

Kate said that while intimacy co-ordinators were available, with one hysterical scene featuring her shouting ‘no biting!, she felt totally at ease in her co-stars company – after previously working together in 2014’s A Little Chaos (pictured with  Matthias Schoenaerts)

Saying: ‘You don’t want to break any bones, but at the same time you want to scare the s*** out of [fellow actors] and make them think you can kill them.’

Kate concluded: ‘[The series is a] satire. Nothing makes sense and it’s so absurd, all you can do is laugh your head off.’ 

Critics have released their initial reviews of The Regime, praising the actress’s ability to channel the spirit of a bevy of notorious leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping, echoes of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, and former US President Donald Trump. 

The Titanic star previously her the role as nothing like she had ever played ‘in her life.’

‘I’ve never read a script like this before. I’ve never laughed so much at the material that was in front of me, as we did every single day, and I really just felt this was an exciting, challenging, terrifying opportunity for me to step totally out of my comfort zone,’ she told the Associated Press.

The mini series is written by Will Tracy – whose credits include The Menu and Succession – with Kate also the producing the series. 

In six parts, the show tells the story of an authoritarian regime in an unspecified country in Europe as its chancellor becomes increasingly paranoid when the economy begins to struggle.

The series jumps forward in time each episode, showing Elena’s unraveling spurred by the increasingly toxic bond she forms with Corporal Zubak , whom she initially hires to test the moisture in each room out of fear of mold, as he starts  convinces Elena that she’s not sick, but is being poisoned by her staff.

Kate said: ‘[The series is a] satire. Nothing makes sense and it’s so absurd, all you can do is laugh your head off. 

Meanwhile Belgian actor Matthias, 46, admitted he did everything he could to frighten Kate during more dramatic scenes

Saying: ‘You don’t want to break any bones, but at the same time you want to scare the s*** out of [fellow actors] and make them think you can kill them.’ (Kate pictured with Winslet Guillaume Gallienne – who plays her husband Nicholas)

The series also stars Hugh Grant as a political prisoner 

Reviews have praised the actress for her ability to balance the sinister side of the chancellor, who rules her small country through surveillance and violence, while delivering her lines with impeccable comedic timing.

‘Winslet, equipped with a lisping, upper-crust accent and gamely leading deranged musical numbers, pivots fluidly from hysterical hypochondriac to tyrannical alpha, hopeless romantic to malignant narcissist,’ Time said of the actresses performance. 

In a review, Rolling Stone described Elena’s behaviour as having ‘some echoes’ of Putin – specifically after she invades a neighbouring country that was once hers, as well as Trump, writing, ‘she is erratic, subject to bizarre whims, and largely disconnected from reality.’ 

The Daily Beast called Kate’s portrayal of a cunning and paranoid dictator as a ‘clever amalgamation’ of other world leaders.

‘Winslet is almost too good in too many ways to count in The Regime,’ the said. 

Reviews have praised the actress for her ability to balance the sinister side of the chancellor, who rules her small country through surveillance and violence, while delivering her lines with impeccable comedic timing

‘She is so terrific at being a complete and utter oaf that one has to wonder why Winslet has taken on so few major comedic roles. But no matter—why not save those brilliant comic chops for a character as finely tuned and memorable as Elena?’

The BBC described the actress as ‘spectacular, funny and chilling,’ in the ‘absurdist yet close-to-home satire.’

‘[The Regime] assumes that it’s best to laugh to keep from crying,’ they wrote. 

‘With a spectacular, funny and chilling Kate Winslet as the imperious chancellor of an unnamed, fictional Central European country, the captivating series is a comedy that never ignores the real-life, global dramas beneath it all.’

The New York Times applauded her performance in the role, describing The Regime as a ‘kind of twisted love story’.

‘And for some romantics and their unfortunate subjects, love is a battlefield,’ the review read.

The Regime is on Sky and Now TV from April 8