Gillian Anderson was ‘profoundly affected' by memoir that inspired The Salt Path

Irish Independent

25-05-2025

The novel, written by Raynor Winn, follows the author and her husband, Moth, as they lose their home and embark on a long-distance walk with only a few pennies in their pockets.
The X-Files star Anderson, 56, plays Winn in the new film while Harry Potter actor Jason Isaacs stars as her husband.
'I first discovered The Salt Path probably about a year and a half or two before they went into prep', she told the Big Issue.
'I bought Ray's audiobook and was profoundly affected by it. I was then trying to find out about the rights.
'I knew Lloyd Levin, one of the producers, when I used to live in LA.
'I reached out after I found out that he had the rights. It had been a few years, did he think it was actually going to happen?
'If he didn't, could I take over the rights or do it with them? He said, 'we are making this', then they came to me for Ray.'
Isaacs, 61, told the magazine: 'It shocked me how quickly and easily they became homeless. One moment they were sure that they were going to keep their home, then they're sitting in court and suddenly there is a date, a ticking clock.'
After they lost their home the couple completed the 1,000km South West Coast Path, which follows the coastline of Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and Dorset.
As well as delving into the issue of homelessness, the book and film explore Moth's diagnosis of corticobasal degeneration (CBD), a rare condition that can cause gradually worsening problems with movement, speech, memory and swallowing, according to the NHS website.
In 2017, Winn had an article published in the Big Issue and said 'everything changed' for her after this.
The Salt Path was published in March 2018 and became a Sunday Times bestseller.
The film will be released on May 30.