Los Angeles, Feb 19: Kate Winslet became an overnight star with “Titanic” in 1997 but the actor still cannot shake off the scrutiny that she faced in her twenties.
In an interview with Net-A-Porter, the 48-year-old actor recalled the constant media attention that came with the success of the James Cameron-directed film which featured her alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. The film won 11 Oscars. “I felt like I had to look a certain way, or be a certain thing, and because media intrusion was so significant at that time, my life was quite unpleasant,” Winslet said. “Journalists would always say, ‘After ‘Titanic,’ you could have done anything and yet you chose to do these small things. And I was like, ‘Yeah, you bet your f***ing life I did! Because, guess what, being famous was horrible.’ I was grateful, of course. I was in my early twenties, and I was able to get a flat. But I didn’t want to be followed literally feeding the ducks,” the actor said.
Winslet, who went on to build a successful career and won the best actress Oscar for her role in “The Reader”, said she has become accustomed to her fame over the years.
But despite the intrusions on her personal life as a young actress, Winslet went on to say that she remains grateful to have been a part of the film. She explained that she now appreciates the passion that fans have for the movie, even if it means she can never take another boat ride in peace. “I wear it really lightly,” she said of her fame. “It’s not a burden, any of it. [‘Titanic’] continues to bring people huge amounts of joy. The only time I am like, ‘Oh god, hide’, is if we are on a boat somewhere.”
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This is not the first time Winslet has spoken about the downsides of her “Titanic” fame. In a 2022 interview, the actress recalled being hurt by the negative remarks that many people in the entertainment industry made about her weight following the film’s release. “Apparently I was too fat,” she said, before reflecting on how she would have handled such treatment from media if it happened today. “I would have said to journalists, I would have responded, I would have said, ‘Don’t you dare treat me like this. I’m a young woman, my body is changing, I’m figuring it out, I’m deeply insecure, I’m terrified, don’t make this any harder than it already is.’ (PTI)
