Watts, 48, is now starring in the new Netflix show Gypsy, in which she plays a cognitive behavioral therapist who infiltrates the private lives of her patients by creating new identities for herself.
She explained that the role connects with her memories of being a child who was constantly moving around as her mother made ends meet.
“I moved around a lot when I was a kid,” Watts said. “I mean, I went to nine different schools in England. Started off in Kent. Moved to Cambridge for a little while. We lived in Norfolk, we lived in Suffolk, in Wales – that was where my grandparents were. So, a lot of moving, a lot of new schools, a lot of reinventing myself. ‘How do I get into that group? How do I get accepted? Who should I be? Who do you want me to be?’ That’s part of where the Gypsy world taps into my life, that constant reinvention.”
The actress also shares that she’s drawn on her own experiences sitting on a therapist’s couch.
“I’ve definitely done periods of time in a therapist’s office. Got some proper help at points of crisis,” she said.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.