Often, it’s the tales as old as time that have the ugliest, stalest ring to them. Case in point: Oscar and Emmy-winner Kate Winslet, who recently opened up about handling industry fixation on her weight as a newer actor. Winslet shot to stardom at the age of 22 after her lead role in James Cameron’s Titanic opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.
“When I was younger my agent would get calls saying, ‘How’s her weight?’” Winslet tells The Sunday Times’ Jonathan Dean in a new interview. Winslet did not specify who called upon her agent with these questions.
Now 47, Winslet also shares that she cares deeply “about being that actor who moves their face and has a body that jiggles,” and choosing roles that allow her to stay true to what’s closest to her heart.
“I make each decision with integrity,” she explains, “because if I don’t I’ll be shit.”
Case in point: Winslet’s latest role in the drama I Am Ruth, where she stars alongside her real-life daughter Mia Threapleton. In the film, Winslet plays a mother trying to help her daughter (Threapleton) navigate the pressures of social media amidst mental health concerns.
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The story rings true for Winslet—as she puts it, the additional prevalence of social media and involuntary recording heightens the scrutiny her daughter experiences in the industry, and makes every mistake seem tragically permanent.
“It was hard enough having the flipping News of the World on my doorstep, but that doesn’t even cut it now,” she shares. “That phrase about ‘today’s news being tomorrow’s fish and chip paper’ doesn’t exist. The thing you did when you were drunk or foolish? It may come back to haunt you. Needing to be on one’s guard for young actors is just a different thing. It must be extraordinarily hard.”
