IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Kate Winslet gushes about Wawa: It 'felt like a mythical place'

Fans of Winslet and the popular East Coast convenience store reacted.
Wawa / Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

Kate Winslet’s thoughts on Wawa are the opinions we never knew we needed.

During her appearance during Wednesday’s episode of the Los Angeles Times podcast “The Envelope,” Winslet revealed that she fully embraced Pennsylvanian culture for her role in “Mare of Easttown.” In the HBO limited series and murder mystery hit, she plays police sergeant Mare Sheehan for her first television role in 10 years.

The show is set in the small town of Easttown in Delaware County, also known colloquially as "Delco." While fictional, Easttown is said to be based on three actual places: Drexel Hill, Coatesville and Aston, according to writer and producer Brad Ingelsby.

The “Titanic” star nailed down the Delco accent after doing nearly six months of preparation and research before she shot the show. While brainstorming ways that she could better connect with her character and where she was going, she decided to subscribe to the Delco Times, a local daily newspaper in Delaware County.

What is Wawa?
Kate Winslet in "Mare of Easttown."HBO Max

“I would read this newspaper every day and there would regularly be some article about Wawa or some offer. So to me, it almost felt like a mythical place,” Winslet explained. “By the time I got there, I was like, ‘It’s real!’ Walking into a Wawa ultimately felt, it was kind of an honor, in a funny way, because to me that was the heart of Delco.

"So to finally walk through the door of a Wawa… I don’t know why I felt like, ‘Oh, yes, I’m here, I belong. This is where it’s at. Wawa.’”

What is Wawa?

For those unfamiliar, Wawa is a chain of convenience stores and gas stations that span New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Florida, in addition to its home state of Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Wawa, Pennsylvania, the name of the town is derived from the Algonquian language Ojibwe, meaning Canada goose.

The cult-favorite chain is a one-stop-shop, where a convenience store meets a gas station meets a fast food joint. In 2018, a nationwide Market Force Information study revealed that America’s favorite sandwich spot was none other than Wawa, the fan-favorite East Coast chain.

Wawa store in Lawrence Township, New Jersey
Wawa.SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

If you’re wondering what her go-to order was, Winslet said she typically would just get coffee but really enjoyed just “hanging out in there.” Her co-star, Evan Peters, would regularly try to influence Winslet to order a sub called the Gobbler, a seasonal menu item that included turkey, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

“He would say, ’You gotta try the Gobbler,'” she explained. “And it was this gigantic sub, basically... or hoagie, this huge hoagie. It’s basically a Thanksgiving meal in a hoagie. He was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I just eat that thing and I pass out.’ And I’d be like, ‘I’m not surprised! I’m not surprised, Evan!’”

Fans of Winslet — or rather, fans of Wawa — took to social media this week to share their thoughts on her Wawa revelation.

“Kate Winslet understands the beauty of a Wawa,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another fan tweeted, “I need a documentary about Kate Winslet’s first Wawa experience ASAP."

“Kate Winslet's reaction to Wawa is the correct one I am prepared to fight about this,” someone wrote.

Wawa even got in on the fun yesterday, tweeting a screengrab of Winslet from “Mare of Easttown."

“‘Oh, yes, I’m here, I belong. This is where it’s at. Wawa,’" the official Wawa account wrote. "Who’s grabbing a ☕️ before next show?”