Kate Winslet says that playing troubled characters has taken a toll on her mental health

Kate told the Lessons from Our Mothers podcast: "There's this thing that happens as an actor, and it sound very self indulgent so I very rarely say it.

"But when you play a really difficult part - I think of Mare of Easttown, for example, which flattened me, my god - you do have to kind of come out the other side."

The Titanic star continued: "I call it re-entry. Re-entry into your own life, going back into your friendships, reintegrating into the rhythm of family again. Exiting a family, leaving people behind, letting a character go.

"It takes a while, actually, to unpick a character from your system, especially if you have played them for a long time, which, with television, you really do."

Kate revealed that she needed professional help after starring in the 2021 HBO crime drama Mare of Easttown - which saw her portray a troubled Pennsylvania detective after the coronavirus pandemic caused havoc with the production.

The Oscar-winning star recalled: "It was meant to be a six month shoot.

"Covid happened after the five months that we had been shooting, and everything got pushed, and when we came back, our five remaining weeks turned into 10.

"By the end of the whole thing, I'd been playing that character for over a year. And I really honestly went a bit mad. It was quite weird.

"It's the only time in my life that I actually had to get some proper help, to come back to myself.

"It sounds completely insane, and even as I say it, I feel quite uncomfortable saying it, because I'm aware of how bonkers and indulgent that can sound."

Kate's son Joe Anders, 21, whom she has with her ex-husband Sam Mendes, is following her into acting and she is glad to have been able to offer him support as he stars in the new Apple TV+ series Cape Fear.

She said: "He's a few months out the other side of that, and he's still in the experience of the re-entry.

"I'm able to actively support my son in this moment in his life, when actually, the mothering does kick in again on a very cellular level.

"Good meals, good walk, let's get in the sea. Don't need to talk today? That's fine. Want to stay in bed today? Absolutely fine. You don't need to do anything. Doesn't matter. Do nothing and be okay with it."