The one thing about acting that’s always terrified Kate Winslet: “It’s a whole bunch of mind-fucking”
Kate Winslet is undoubtedly a master of her craft. With seven Oscar nominations to her name, it’s surprising that she has only secured one win—for her role in the 2008 film The Reader. However, her accolades extend far beyond the Academy, including two Emmy Awards, five Baftas, and five Golden Globes. Currently, she’s up for yet another Golden Globe for her leading role in the World War II drama Lee.
Awards aside, Kate Winslet is undeniably one of the finest actors of her generation. She burst onto the scene with her stunning performance in Peter Jackson’s haunting true-crime drama Heavenly Creatures in 1994, before achieving global superstardom in James Cameron’s Titanic. Rather than being tied to the trappings of blockbuster success, Winslet strategically shifted her focus to smaller, riskier roles, such as in Jane Campion’s Holy Smoke, Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Todd Field’s Little Children. In recent years, she has carved out a formidable presence in prestige television, most notably with her critically acclaimed performance in HBO’s Mare of Easttown.
Throughout her career, Winslet has maintained an extremely practical approach to the industry and has been refreshingly frank about it, dismissing method acting as “wanky” and calling herself out for the “fucking disgraceful” decisions to work with controversial directors Roman Polanski and Woody Allen. Recently, she was at it yet again, referring to the one thing about the profession that she just can’t stand.
During an interview with 60 Minutes last month, the Titanic star said that she still gets anxious about landing a role if she wants it badly enough. “Oh, honestly, it’s a whole bunch of mind fucking,” she said. “I mean, it is, even to this day. Like anything, going for a job interview, it’s absolutely terrifying. If it’s a job you really want, doubly terrifying.”
It’s hard to imagine Kate Winslet going into a meeting with any director or producer without knowing, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that they are crossing all their fingers and praying to every known deity that she might deign to work with them. It’s also hard to imagine her being terrified of anything. In fact, it is apparently the other way around.
Hugh Grant, who starred with Winslet early in her career in Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility, said that he was frightened of her when they reteamed three decades later for the series The Regime. “I mean, God almighty, she’s got about 400 Oscars and is revered,” he said. Exactly, Hugh. Exactly.
Regardless of whether there is any reason for Winslet to wonder whether she’ll get a specific part (there definitely isn’t), her nervousness is yet further proof that she is one of the greatest actors of her generation. After decades of acclaim, she is still so passionate about her work that she views it as a privilege rather than a foregone conclusion. No matter how many more Oscars there will be in her future – surely at least a couple – she will always be one of the greats.
