Kate Winslet said playing pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anning in Francis Lee’s 2020 drama Ammonite left her “scared every day” because the role demanded exceptionally restrained emotion. The film’s romance between Anning and Charlotte Murchison, played by Saoirse Ronan, relies on silences and subtle gestures rather than dramatic declarations, making it a significant departure from more overtly expressive performances.

Winslet said Anning showed almost no conventional happiness, sadness or tears, so she had to convey longing, pride and joy through her eyes and hand movements. To experience some of the character’s isolation, she stayed alone in a Lyme Regis beach cottage during the working week, adopted a heavy gait and practised fossil hunting, leaving her with real scars on her hands.