Kate Winslet On Her Body, Her Confidence and Working with Big-Headed Stars

A few years ago a band called the Silver Brazilians released a song titled “Kate Winslet“, which served as an ode to the beauty of the titular Titanic actress.  However, with lyrics like “Kate Winslet / You know you look so fine / When they talk about your weight girl / I wouldn’t pay no mind / I’m no diplomat / but you look better fat / Kate Winslet,” it does mention Winslet’s often-discussed figure in a less-than-flattering way.

Winslet herself discusses her body with The Sun, explaining why she’s so willing to do nude scenes despite not being supermodel slim.  She points out, “I look like the people that walk down the street. I don’t have perfect b**bs, I don’t have zero cellulite — of course I don’t — and I’m curvy. If that is something that makes women feel empowered in any way, that’s great.  On a deeper, subconscious level, it’s one of the reasons why I’ve allowed my stupid self to be so naked on screen.  It’s partly because I do believe that it’s right for the character and it’s right for the story but it’s also knowing that not many people do that, actually — and not just that, but I’m a normal person.”  (Of course, I understand Winslet is trying to be endearing here, but I wish that more “people that walk down the street” actually did look like her and not like… well, the way they normally do).

When asked if she felt awkward about her 21 year-old self re-appearing this year on screens in the 3D re-release of Titanic, Winslet bluntly answered, “Oh my God, I couldn’t give a s**t. I mean, I’m so much less self-conscious and I think that’s something to do with getting older and acceptance of one’s self, feeling stronger, feeling more confident.  I think confidence does come with time and I’ve been really surprised by that actually.  I mean, I remember being 21 and imagining that at 36 my t**s would be around my knees and I would have bad hair and terrible teeth.  When you are younger, somehow being in your later thirties just seems really old.  But I feel stronger, fitter and more comfortable in my own skin now than I have ever done.”

With that confidence has come Winslet’s decision not to work with any divas in her films.  She explains, “I had great examples set to me at a very young age and to this day I am still grateful for that because whenever I am working with a younger actor who I think might be slightly out of line, or getting a little bit too pleased with themselves, I know I really have to set my good example and really set it well.  I really have to make sure they know that that kind of s**t is not going to go down.  I might be playing the lead but no one’s trailer is going to be bigger than anyone else’s, no one is going to have all these stars flopping around, no one is going to have a great big entourage.  As for the perks package that a lot of famous people do tend to have, I will either completely avoid it, or do something like roll that person’s job into one. Sometimes I watch the credits at the end of movies and I count people’s assistants and I just think, ‘You f*****g f****r’.”

Yikes, tell us how you really feel, Miss Winslet!  You talk like my Grandpa after too many screwdrivers…