Uzo Aduba Explains How Her Role on 'In Treatment' Was 'Deeply Healing' After Her Mother's Death

Uzo Aduba drew inspiration from the real-life death of her mother, Nonyem, while working on her HBO series, In Treatment.

During a recent appearance on PEOPLE (the TV Show!), Aduba spoke to correspondent Sandra Vergara about how working on the show was "deeply healing" following Nonyem's passing in November.

"It's never easy to lose anyone. It's certainly not easy to hold proximity to a loss when your character is experiencing a similar loss," the actress, 40, said.

"I thank HBO a thousand times for giving the space that was needed to help start that process. I think that it's challenging, but what I know is that it was also deeply healing at the same time," she continued. "I'm really grateful to have been working on this project when I was working on this project, because what I didn't know was that it was helping me work through my own."

Last month, the Orange Is the New Black alum announced that her mother died in November after battling cancer. In a Twitter tribute posted on Nonyem's birthday, Aduba wrote: "She was and remains my hero; I am proud to know that it's her blood running through my veins. Today is her birthday. I miss her. So much. It's taken me this long to even know how to begin to share just how remarkable a woman, a mother she was. Mommy, I love and miss you every day. Happy Heavenly Birthday."

The month before her mother's death, Aduba was cast in the lead role for the fourth season of In Treatment — a series that's marking its return to the small screen following a decade-long hiatus. The star's character, Dr. Brooke Taylor, is a therapist who is grappling with the loss of someone close to her.

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Aduba said on PEOPLE (the TV Show!) that the role proved to be very "demanding" on her part and "absolutely a challenge" as well, but she had such a great experience working with the show's "remarkable" cast.

"Every single person was top-notch, every person. Every single person arrived with their A-game and it made it exciting," she said. "You wanted to deliver, you just wanted to."

The Mrs. America actress also explained that the "challenge" of the role is something that she found very intriguing. "As hard as the show as it was to work on because it's just two people talking, I really started to enjoy the butterflies and the nervousness," she said.

"You get that stage fright, but then when you make it to the other side and the curtain comes up, you're all excited — you and your cast," she continued. "I started to feel really excited."

Season 4 of In Treatment premieres Sunday on HBO.