(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Kate Winslet was thrilled to star as Mildred Pierce in her new TV show as the character is a rocket, but she wishes shed got more lie-ins.

The British star is portraying the iconic character in a new five-part miniseries for HBO. The story centres on Mildreds attempts to become successful and raise her daughter Veda, played by Evan Rachel Wood, who she has a tumultuous relationship with.

Kate was immediately drawn to the character as she knew it would be a stretch to play her. Mildred was first made famous by Joan Crawford in a 1945 film, although the new version is more closely linked to the book by James M. Cain.

Id never come across a female character who had such an incredible blend of both strength and vulnerability at the same time. And for her to be that brilliant at multi-tasking and that wonderful as a mother, I really did admire that in her. And how she puts herself to one side for the sake of her family and for the sake of being a good wife and so on, that when she does make that decision to make something of herself at a time when it was incredibly hard for anyone to do that shes like a rocket, Kate told the BBC.

Its an incredible character and to be in every single scene like that the producers would come to me and say, Look, weve looked at the schedule and wed love to give you a lie-in but were sorry!

Kate knows people will draw parallels between her and Joans different portrayals of Mildred, but she isnt too worried about it. She took steps to ensure the movie didnt influence the way she interpreted the character.

Im sure they probably will [be compared], how could that not happen because she won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mildred, the actress said. I actually havent seen the original deliberately. I cant wait to see it now, Im dying to because I know its a great film, Ive been told by several people. (C) Cover Media