Multi-award-winning actress Kate Winslet, known for Titanic and Mare of Easttown, opens up about advice from early in her career that she rightfully rebuked. Winslet has been working steadily since the 1990s, becoming a household name thanks to James Cameron’s Titanic. She has appeared in numerous lauded projects, like Sense and Sensibility, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Steve Jobs, Contagion, and Little Children. Winslet has also garnered several awards, having been nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning once for 2008’s The Reader, and even winning two Emmys, including one for 2021’s limited series Mare of Easttown. However, the actress has had her share of struggles in the industry.
While speaking with The Sunday Times, Winslet revealed crude aspects of the entertainment industry, with her being advised early on in her acting career to settle for “fat girl” roles. According to the actress, this initial advice, which she rebuked, was a continued problem even when she was getting work, with her agent often being asked about her weight. And while Winslet pushed through, making a name for herself, the fixation on her weight pulled back the curtain on the darker side of acting. Check out Winslet’s comments below:
“It can be extremely negative. People are subject to scrutiny that is more than a young, vulnerable person can cope with. But in the film industry it is really changing. When I was younger my agent would get calls saying, ‘How’s her weight?’ I kid you not. So it’s heartwarming that this has started to change.”
Why Kate Winslet Was Right For Rejecting Bad Advice
With Winslet’s celebrated career, she has more than proven herself to be a capable actor. She has even recently expanded her resume to include behind-the-scenes work, acting as executive producer on Mare of Easttown and producing Lee, an upcoming film she stars in as Elizabeth Lee Miller, a fashion model turned acclaimed Vogue magazine war correspondent during World War II. Given Winslet’s undeniable talent, it seems appalling that she could have been hindered by something as trivial as her weight.
Hollywood already has a problem with an unrealistic body image that is often portrayed as the norm, with many stars fitting into narrow criteria when it comes to their appearance. And while the industry looks to be making corrective strides, the damage has been done for many, as stars are often judged solely on appearance and less on talent, which is often worse for actresses. Luckily, actors like Winslet can push past the negative comments and feedback, finding success in their own right. While she was likely hurt by the crude advice she was given, Winslet was right to reject it, with her success being the ultimate revenge against those in the industry who couldn’t see past her weight.
Winslet’s comments are also true for many other actors. However, she has made a distinct choice to embrace such things and make them work for her, pushing for body positivity in her work. For example, while working on Mare of Easttown, she wanted to present a more realistic body type, even going as far as to campaign against the idea of removing her “bulgy bit of belly” from a sex scene, ultimately having the last laugh with her Emmy win. So while body image issues are still far more prevalent than they should be, Winslet has helped to show that there is more to being an actor than some agents and executives may care to acknowledge. With Winslet being a champion for body positivity in the industry, she is a shining example to other actors, as her career is still going strong, with audiences able to see her next in Avatar: The Way of Water.
Source: The Sunday Times