What the zany soap opera Passions taught Mary Elizabeth Winstead about acting
The star recalls landing her first major role on Passions in 1999 — and why she left after only a year
Mary Elizabeth Winstead always grounds her performances in reality, no matter if the role is a comic book character in Scott Pilgrim, a green alien in the Star Wars series Ahsoka, or a glamorous movie star like the one she plays in the new drama series A Gentleman in Moscow.
But when Winstead booked her first big job in Los Angeles on the daytime soap opera Passions (known by many as the weirdest soap opera of the millennium), she learned an important lesson about her craft and what she looks for in a role.
"It was really exciting to get a job like that," Winstead says in a conversation with Q guest host Talia Schlanger. "I was 14, it was my first time coming out to L.A. to audition … and I auditioned for a bunch of things. [I] came really close on some pilots and then ended up getting this soap opera."
To give an idea of how zany Passions really was, some of the show's main plotlines and story arcs involved a doll that comes to life, demonic possessions and a closet that doubled as a gate to hell — alongside all the usual drama that comes with a soap opera.
"It was an interesting experience because I didn't really know what to expect," says Winstead, who played the character Jessica Bennett from 1999 to 2000.
There wasn't a lot of, you know, mining of your inner artist and all of that stuff.- Mary Elizabeth Winstead
"I had worked a little bit on some episodic things. It was hard work. It was good training in the sense that I had to learn my lines and hit my mark and all of that stuff … but there wasn't a lot of, you know, mining of your inner artist and all of that stuff, which even at 14, was kind of what I really yearned for."
After a year or so, Winstead decided to leave Passions and pursue other projects. "It just felt a bit like, I'm a kid and I'm not really happy on this job," she says.
But rather than putting her off of acting, Passions reaffirmed to her that she wanted more and was capable of doing it.
"I knew there was just something else that I could feel was tangible," Winstead says. "And I certainly wasn't expecting to suddenly be doing some sort of Oscar-worthy thing, but I did feel that there was something that could require more of me.
"I'm still always looking for that kind of emotional connection to something. And I think in pretty much everything I've done I've always been able to find that…. Like, OK, what's this person going through and what's their arc and what's their journey? At least having that to work with is first and foremost what I'm looking for. And I just need to personally connect with it — whether or not other people do is sort of out of my control. But as long as I do that, that's the most important thing."
The full interview with Mary Elizabeth Winstead is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. She also talks about her roles in A Gentleman in Moscow, Ahsoka and Scott Pilgrim. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Mary Elizabeth Winstead produced by Matthew Murphy.
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