Gillian Anderson has opened up about how deeply moved she was by Raynor Winn’s memoir, The Salt Path, which chronicles the author and her husband’s harrowing experience with homelessness and their decision to embark on a long, arduous trek with limited resources. Anderson stars as Winn in the forthcoming film adaptation set to premiere at the end of this month.
Known for her iconic role in The X-Files and her work in Sex Education, Anderson filmed The Salt Path in the scenic Wye Valley. She stars alongside Jason Isaacs, famously known for his role in Harry Potter, who plays Winn’s husband, Moth. Anderson shared with The Big Issue that she discovered the book about a year and a half before production began. “I bought Ray’s audiobook and was profoundly affected by it,” she said. Eager to be involved, Anderson reached out to producer Lloyd Levin, a former acquaintance from her time in Los Angeles, to inquire about acquiring the rights. “He said, ‘We are making this,’ and later they came to me to portray Ray.”
Jason Isaacs, 61, reflected on the story’s stark reality: “It shocked me how quickly and easily they became homeless. One moment they were confident they would keep their home, and the next, they were sitting in court facing eviction with a ticking clock.”
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After losing their home, Raynor and Moth Winn set out on a 1,000-kilometer journey along the South West Coast Path, traversing the picturesque shores of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset. The memoir and film highlight not only the challenges of homelessness but also Moth’s diagnosis with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a rare and progressive neurological condition that impairs movement, speech, memory, and swallowing.
A major turning point came in 2017 when Raynor published an article in The Big Issue, which she credits with changing the course of their lives. The Salt Path was published in March 2018, quickly becoming a Sunday Times bestseller. The much-anticipated film adaptation will be released on Friday, May 30.