Kate Winslet talks Delco accent on ‘60 Minutes’ — it’s harder than ordering a cheesesteak

Kate Winslet, the British actress who made us believe she was straight out of Delco in Mare of Easttown, is back to praising Philly’s unique accent. In the HBO hit series, Winslet starred as Mare Sheehan, a no-nonsense detective from Delaware County navigating a grueling murder investigation. Her portrayal earned her an Emmy and plenty of praise for her uncanny ability to nail the notoriously tricky Delco drawl.

During her recent 60 Minutes interview with Cecilia Vega on CBS, where she was promoting her latest project, Lee — a film about World War II photographer Lee Miller — Kate Winslet reflected on the quirks of the Philly accent, calling it “really difficult” to master. While far removed from the world of Delco detectives, Philly’s unique dialect still seems to follow her.

“It’s actually the ‘i’ sound in the Philadelphia and the Delco dialect that is really difficult,” Winslet explained, seamlessly switching between her natural Queen’s English to the clipped, flattened tones of Southeastern PA. “‘That’s nice’ becomes ‘That’s nice. I like your bike,’” she demonstrated, slipping between accents like someone deciding between Wawa hoagie sizes.

Winslet has spoken before about the grueling process of perfecting the Delco accent for the role. “I’m an actor who doesn’t like to get things wrong,” she previously told The Inquirer, explaining how much effort she put into making the accent feel authentic and not gimmicky. “The temptation to make it sound like you’re doing a voice is pretty high,” she admitted.

To get it just right, Winslet worked with both her longtime dialect coach, Susan Hegarty, and local expert Susanne Sulby. While the 60 Minutes interview focused on the difficulty of the accent among other things, Winslet has previously ranked it as one of the hardest of her career. “It’s one of only two dialects in my life that made me throw things,” Winslet told IndieWire in an earlier interview.