
Revolutionary Road
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The Reader
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Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road |
Kate Winslet in The Reader. Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon © 2008. The Weinstein Co. |
Another mystery is how Winslet kept her professionalism intact while filming Revolutionary Road’s pivotal love scenes with DiCaprio (while her husband directed them). It seems as difficult a job as the one she had trying to lure the average moviegoer into sympathizing with her portrayal of a Nazi war criminal in The Reader. Yet, Winslet’s talent, a byproduct of what she deems “a manifestation of something within me and an accumulation of life experience,” managed to get her through both scripts without a nervous breakdown and attract audiences and critics with equal force. One look at the recent additions to her trophy case—two Golden Globes, two BAFTAs, two SAGs and one Oscar—and even the most jaded Hollywood casting agent will tell you Winslet can make any script work.
“Yes, [all the awards] are absolutely an acknowledgment of our hard work and a testament to the long hours we’ve pulled,” Winslet says, referring to Mendes, who not only had to hear her talk shop about Revolutionary Road nonstop (on set and in bed) but she asserts he was the one who urged her to accept the lead in The Reader after Nicole Kidman dropped out of the project.

Kate Winslet
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Winslet is the new face of Lancôme Trésor Sheer Fragrance, $72. |
“But I don’t think [the awards] have necessarily boosted my confidence. If I was younger and going through this particular time, it might make a definitive impact. I know who I am now,” she states. This is probably one of the reasons why she decided to take a break from acting this year and signed on to be the spokesperson for Lancôme’s Trésor Sheer Fragrance perfume. It’s a job that brings with it a lot more glamour and a lot less drama than the emotionally wrought scenes she usually slaves over. “The biggest cliché about acting is that it is glamorous,” she says. “The process is wonderful, but there is nothing glamorous about it.”
Winslet was easily convinced by Lancôme to step off the set for a while, and she cites the company’s previous spokespeople as inspiration—namely, Oscar-winning actor Juliette Binoche and esteemed icon Isabella Rossellini. “I admire the fact that [Lancôme] has chosen women like them, since they are risk takers and powerful, warm souls. I’ve met them on several occasions and I know they are women who are comfortable in their own skin, strong-minded and passionate. There is no point in having a pretty face if you have an ugly spirit.”
“The Amazing Kate” has been edited for FLARE.com; the complete story appears in the May 2009 issue of FLARE.
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