WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.879 We all know that image, don't we? Rose, the rose, 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:05.240 arms out wide on the bow of the Titanic yelling, 00:00:05.379 --> 00:00:07.879 I'm flying. It's just burned into our collective 00:00:07.879 --> 00:00:11.460 memory. Absolutely. And that moment back in 1997, 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:16.000 it catapulted Kate Winslet into this, well, insane 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.320 level of global fame. The kind few actors ever 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:21.949 really touch. It was pure movie stardom. But 00:00:21.949 --> 00:00:23.969 here's the fascinating thing, the real core of 00:00:23.969 --> 00:00:26.370 what we're diving into today. She reaches this 00:00:26.370 --> 00:00:29.690 incredible peak with Titanic, this massive success. 00:00:29.949 --> 00:00:31.949 And then instead of just riding that wave, taking 00:00:31.949 --> 00:00:34.570 all the huge blockbuster roles that must have 00:00:34.570 --> 00:00:37.369 been pouring in, she spends the next, what, three 00:00:37.369 --> 00:00:41.329 decades. actively picking parts that were, let's 00:00:41.329 --> 00:00:43.329 be honest, often pretty non -commercial. Right. 00:00:43.649 --> 00:00:45.929 Deliberately choosing these really complex, sometimes 00:00:45.929 --> 00:00:48.630 thorny as it's been put, or even unsympathetic 00:00:48.630 --> 00:00:50.869 women, really committing to independent film. 00:00:51.070 --> 00:00:52.810 It's such a paradox, isn't it? It really is. 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:54.329 I mean, think about it. This is an actress who 00:00:54.329 --> 00:00:56.689 could have easily anchored huge franchises, commanded 00:00:56.689 --> 00:00:59.289 massive paychecks. But instead, you look at her 00:00:59.289 --> 00:01:02.109 career and what do you see? You see her setting 00:01:02.109 --> 00:01:04.170 a world record for holding her breath underwater 00:01:04.170 --> 00:01:07.530 for like seven minutes for an Avatar sequel. 00:01:07.709 --> 00:01:10.519 Which is just... Incredible dedication. Or mastering 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:13.000 that incredibly specific Delco accent for an 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:17.060 HBO show, Mayor of Easttown. And becoming this 00:01:17.060 --> 00:01:19.659 powerhouse, not just starring, but executive 00:01:19.659 --> 00:01:22.700 producing on premium TV. So our mission today 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:25.760 really is to unpack all of that. The career, 00:01:26.019 --> 00:01:29.439 the persona of Kate Winslet. We want to look 00:01:29.439 --> 00:01:33.340 closely at the, well, the intentionality behind. 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:36.299 pretty much every choice she's made since stepping 00:01:36.299 --> 00:01:38.519 off that metaphorical iceberg. Yeah, we've got 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:40.500 some really comprehensive sources looking at 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:42.579 her life, her early struggles, those career ups 00:01:42.579 --> 00:01:45.219 and downs, and that fierce independence she seems 00:01:45.219 --> 00:01:46.980 to have. And this isn't just going to be, you 00:01:46.980 --> 00:01:49.159 know, A, then B, then C. It's not a simple timeline. 00:01:49.299 --> 00:01:52.079 No, not at all. It's more an exploration of how 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.920 that deep, deep dedication to the craft, what 00:01:54.920 --> 00:01:56.579 you might almost call a jobbing actor mindset, 00:01:56.859 --> 00:02:00.239 even after superstardom, how that, combined with 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:02.920 being willing to say no to the easy money, The 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:06.180 guaranteed hits actually leads to this incredible 00:02:06.180 --> 00:02:09.680 artistic longevity and, of course, massive critical 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:12.219 acclaim. Her career really is kind of a masterclass, 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:15.120 isn't it? In how you manage maximum exposure, 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:18.860 but maintain maximum artistic integrity. Exactly. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:20.840 And to really understand where that resilience 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:23.639 comes from, that deep -seated commitment to the 00:02:23.639 --> 00:02:26.360 work itself. Yeah. Well, we have to go right 00:02:26.360 --> 00:02:28.039 back to the beginning. Look at the foundations. 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:31.930 Okay. So, Reading, Berkshire. What strikes you 00:02:31.930 --> 00:02:35.009 immediately is that her start was, well, a world 00:02:35.009 --> 00:02:36.930 away from Hollywood glitz and glamour, right? 00:02:37.349 --> 00:02:39.430 Her family was steeped in theater, but they were 00:02:39.430 --> 00:02:41.530 also constantly struggling with money. That's 00:02:41.530 --> 00:02:44.210 right. She was born there in 1975. Yeah. And 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:46.810 acting was, you know, in the blood. Her mom's 00:02:46.810 --> 00:02:48.889 parents actually ran the Reading Repertory Theater 00:02:48.889 --> 00:02:51.270 Company. Wow. Okay. So acting wasn't some sort 00:02:51.270 --> 00:02:53.129 of impossible dream. It was literally the family 00:02:53.129 --> 00:02:55.969 business. But, and this is crucial, it was a 00:02:55.969 --> 00:02:58.409 business that came with huge financial instability. 00:02:59.009 --> 00:03:01.500 Yeah. The sources really paint. A picture of 00:03:01.500 --> 00:03:04.759 very limited means, things like relying on free 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:07.020 school meal benefits, sometimes even needing 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:10.000 help from the actor's charitable trust just to, 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:12.539 you know, get by. And her father, also an actor, 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.199 but struggling. He had to take on laboring jobs 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:18.120 just to make ends meet. That kind of background, 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:20.379 it must instill a certain kind of work ethic, 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:23.580 right? A sort of pragmatism. I think so. And 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:25.800 that financial pressure really hit a peak when 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:28.569 Kate was about 10. Her dad had a really serious 00:03:28.569 --> 00:03:30.669 foot injury from a boating accident. Oh, wow. 00:03:30.990 --> 00:03:32.949 Yeah. And that made taking those essential physical 00:03:32.949 --> 00:03:35.629 jobs much, much harder. You can just imagine 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:38.509 the stress on the family. Definitely. But interestingly, 00:03:38.849 --> 00:03:40.949 Winslet always said her parents did an amazing 00:03:40.949 --> 00:03:43.509 job making her feel loved and cared for despite 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:46.289 all that financial strain. So there was this 00:03:46.289 --> 00:03:48.909 supportive foundation, which seems really key 00:03:48.909 --> 00:03:51.030 to her later, you know, stability and drive. 00:03:51.330 --> 00:03:53.270 So you've got the acting genes, you've got that 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:56.729 working class resilience. But even as she started 00:03:56.729 --> 00:03:59.889 pursuing acting herself, she faced some pretty 00:03:59.889 --> 00:04:02.590 intense personal stuff, particularly around her 00:04:02.590 --> 00:04:05.030 appearance. She went to Red Roots Theater School 00:04:05.030 --> 00:04:07.949 when she was 11. But she's described herself 00:04:07.949 --> 00:04:10.270 as being an overweight kid, and apparently she 00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:13.310 was bullied quite badly for it. Yeah, the details 00:04:13.310 --> 00:04:16.189 are pretty harsh. Kids calling her blubber. I 00:04:16.189 --> 00:04:18.389 mean, that's incredibly painful, especially when 00:04:18.389 --> 00:04:20.750 you're starting out in a career so focused on 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:23.860 how you look. on public image and it wasn't just 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:25.899 schoolyard stuff was it it affected her roles 00:04:25.899 --> 00:04:29.079 early on no it did when she was involved with 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:31.180 the star maker theater company and she did over 00:04:31.180 --> 00:04:33.620 20 productions with them which shows her commitment 00:04:33.620 --> 00:04:36.319 even then she was apparently often passed over 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:38.600 for the main roles because of her weight so she 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:41.180 was already being typecast in a way playing the 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:43.579 character parts like miss hannigan and annie 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:45.959 or mother wolf in the jungle book exactly it 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:48.709 shows that early dedication Definitely. But also 00:04:48.709 --> 00:04:51.449 that constant sort of rejection based on appearance. 00:04:51.689 --> 00:04:53.949 But the key thing seems to be she didn't let 00:04:53.949 --> 00:04:56.689 it stop her. No, she didn't. And interestingly, 00:04:56.889 --> 00:04:59.670 what apparently did motivate her to lose weight 00:04:59.670 --> 00:05:03.029 later wasn't the bullying, but a sort of throwaway 00:05:03.029 --> 00:05:06.529 comment from a director. This is in 1992 on the 00:05:06.529 --> 00:05:09.290 set of a TV film called Anglo -Saxon Attitudes. 00:05:09.769 --> 00:05:11.670 Right. What happened there? It sounds quite pivotal. 00:05:11.870 --> 00:05:14.410 Well, she was about 13 stone, three pounds then, 00:05:14.529 --> 00:05:16.410 playing the daughter of a character who was meant 00:05:16.410 --> 00:05:20.029 to be obese. And she overheard the director, 00:05:20.269 --> 00:05:22.930 Diarmuid Lawrence, just making a comment about 00:05:22.930 --> 00:05:24.930 the physical similarity between her and the actress 00:05:24.930 --> 00:05:26.730 playing her mother. Just an observation about 00:05:26.730 --> 00:05:28.689 casting, really. Pretty much. It wasn't meant 00:05:28.689 --> 00:05:31.170 maliciously, apparently, just a blunt professional 00:05:31.170 --> 00:05:35.089 observation. But for whatever reason, that comment 00:05:35.089 --> 00:05:37.759 was the catalyst. That's what made her decide 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:40.639 to seriously focus on losing weight. That's fascinating. 00:05:40.779 --> 00:05:42.819 It suggests her motivation was more internal, 00:05:43.019 --> 00:05:45.379 tied to her professional goals, rather than just 00:05:45.379 --> 00:05:47.860 bowing to external pressure. I think that's right. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:51.199 And despite those early hurdles, her screen debut 00:05:51.199 --> 00:05:54.819 actually came really quickly. 1991, just two 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:57.759 weeks after her GCSE exams, she's in a BBC sci 00:05:57.759 --> 00:05:59.920 -fi series called Dark Season. Which was written 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:02.620 by Russell T. Davies, funnily enough. Exactly. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:05.060 A quick start professionally, but then again, 00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:08.139 reality bikes. Money was still tight. She couldn't 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:10.040 afford the fees to stay at Red Roofs, so she 00:06:10.040 --> 00:06:12.199 had to leave when she was 16. And ended up working 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:14.720 in a deli for a bit. Yeah, just briefly to support 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:17.699 herself. It really hammers home that this huge 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:21.139 international star was forged in this very working 00:06:21.139 --> 00:06:23.759 class, get the next job, pay the bills kind of 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:26.660 environment, constantly fighting for roles for 00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:29.300 that next paycheck. That foundation, the grit, 00:06:29.399 --> 00:06:31.420 the dedication, the emotional prep, it leads 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:33.800 us perfectly into what we're calling the defining 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:38.899 era. This period, say 1994 to 2003, intense roles, 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:41.680 that explosive fame, and then this incredibly 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:43.879 deliberate turn. away from the obvious path. 00:06:44.139 --> 00:06:47.259 Yeah, her first really major film role was, I 00:06:47.259 --> 00:06:49.259 mean, talk about jumping into the deep end psychologically, 00:06:49.699 --> 00:06:52.759 Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures in 1994. She 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:55.660 beat 175 other actresses for the part of Juliet 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:57.759 Holm, the teenage murderer. And her preparation 00:06:57.759 --> 00:06:59.500 for that role really set the template for her 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:01.519 entire career, didn't it? She wasn't just learning 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:04.639 lines, she became a researcher. Totally. She 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:07.949 dove deep into the real story. Reading the actual 00:07:07.949 --> 00:07:10.189 trial transcripts from the murder case, the letters, 00:07:10.290 --> 00:07:12.750 the diaries of the real people involved, full 00:07:12.750 --> 00:07:14.750 immersion. But that level of immersion, it took 00:07:14.750 --> 00:07:17.670 a massive toll, right? Oh, definitely. The sources 00:07:17.670 --> 00:07:20.009 say she found it incredibly hard to shake off 00:07:20.009 --> 00:07:22.250 the character, the events. She was apparently 00:07:22.250 --> 00:07:24.870 quite traumatized by filming in the actual locations 00:07:24.870 --> 00:07:27.209 where the murder happened, often just crying 00:07:27.209 --> 00:07:29.069 when she got home from the set. It was a real 00:07:29.069 --> 00:07:32.329 baptism by fire into that kind of intense method 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:35.529 style acting. The psychological cost sounds immense, 00:07:35.810 --> 00:07:38.350 and yet almost straight away she pivots again, 00:07:38.589 --> 00:07:40.990 showing completely different skills in Ang Lee's 00:07:40.990 --> 00:07:44.050 sense and sensibility in 95. The contrast couldn't 00:07:44.050 --> 00:07:47.389 be starker, could it? Going from this traumatized, 00:07:47.389 --> 00:07:49.670 intense teenager in Heavenly Creatures to the, 00:07:49.750 --> 00:07:52.829 you know, impulsive but restrained Marianne Dashwood. 00:07:52.930 --> 00:07:54.610 And Ang Lee apparently had her doing Tai Chi. 00:07:55.079 --> 00:07:57.519 And reading gothic novels. Yeah, to get that 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:00.379 specific quality of grace and restraint he wanted 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:03.180 for the period. And she absolutely nailed it. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:05.379 Won her first BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress. 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:08.740 It really established her early on as this incredibly 00:08:08.740 --> 00:08:12.860 versatile actress who could handle gritty, modern 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:17.399 stuff and demanding period drama. And then, 1997, 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:22.019 the big one, Titanic. The game changer. And her 00:08:22.019 --> 00:08:25.129 determination to get that role. Rose DeWitt Bocotter, 00:08:25.189 --> 00:08:27.490 it's legendary. She really went after it, didn't 00:08:27.490 --> 00:08:30.829 she? Oh, yeah. She pursued James Cameron relentlessly, 00:08:31.009 --> 00:08:33.649 apparently sending him notes, calling him. There's 00:08:33.649 --> 00:08:35.409 that famous quote where she basically pleaded, 00:08:35.429 --> 00:08:36.970 you don't understand, I am Rose, I don't know 00:08:36.970 --> 00:08:38.750 why you're even seeing anyone else. That kind 00:08:38.750 --> 00:08:40.990 of conviction, it's almost scary. But getting 00:08:40.990 --> 00:08:42.909 the role meant signing up for what sounds like 00:08:42.909 --> 00:08:45.529 an absolutely brutal shoot. Brutal is the word. 00:08:45.610 --> 00:08:47.610 The sources are full of the details. She got 00:08:47.610 --> 00:08:50.009 influenza, suffered from hypothermia in those 00:08:50.009 --> 00:08:52.549 water tanks, got covered in bruises. Didn't she 00:08:52.549 --> 00:08:54.950 nearly drown at one point? Yeah, apparently during 00:08:54.950 --> 00:08:57.629 one of the underwater scenes, she was just constantly 00:08:57.629 --> 00:09:00.309 exhausted, running on maybe four hours sleep 00:09:00.309 --> 00:09:02.870 a night sometimes. The physical and mental toll 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:06.230 was just extreme. But the result, well, it changed 00:09:06.230 --> 00:09:08.470 everything. It altered the landscape. Titanic 00:09:08.470 --> 00:09:10.529 became the highest grossing film ever at that 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:13.710 point, made over $2 billion. And suddenly Kate 00:09:13.710 --> 00:09:17.769 Winslet. aged just 22, gets a Best Actress Oscar 00:09:17.769 --> 00:09:21.190 nomination. She wasn't just a star. She was, 00:09:21.190 --> 00:09:25.799 overnight, this global phenomenon. A commodity. 00:09:26.100 --> 00:09:27.860 And this is the crucial moment, isn't it? The 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:30.299 pivot point. The entire world expects her to 00:09:30.299 --> 00:09:32.919 cash in, take the next massive blockbuster, the 00:09:32.919 --> 00:09:35.440 franchise lead. Right. The logical next step. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:37.559 And she does the exact opposite. What we're calling 00:09:37.559 --> 00:09:40.080 the deliberate pivot. She actively turned down 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:42.419 pretty much every big budget mainstream role 00:09:42.419 --> 00:09:44.779 she was offered. It was a huge gamble, commercially 00:09:44.779 --> 00:09:47.539 speaking. Instead, she chose these smaller independent 00:09:47.539 --> 00:09:51.039 films. Things like Hideous Kinky or Jane Campion's. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:53.659 Really quite challenging film. Holy smoke. Why? 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:55.720 What was her thinking there? Well, she explained 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:57.299 it later, and it was purely about the craft. 00:09:57.580 --> 00:09:59.919 She said she felt she still had a lot to learn, 00:10:00.019 --> 00:10:02.759 that she just wasn't ready, wasn't prepared to 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:05.299 be that kind of capitalist star. She wanted to 00:10:05.299 --> 00:10:08.259 become a better actress first. But surely that 00:10:08.259 --> 00:10:11.879 was a massive risk. Financially, strategically, 00:10:12.379 --> 00:10:14.860 how did the industry react? I think there was 00:10:14.860 --> 00:10:17.340 definitely curiosity, maybe some confusion. Like, 00:10:17.379 --> 00:10:19.620 what is she doing? Yeah. But she really stuck 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:22.039 to her guns. Yeah. And she credits that period 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:25.200 now for her career's longevity. By saying no 00:10:25.200 --> 00:10:28.440 to those obvious safe choices, she avoided getting 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:31.220 stuck. Avoided being just the English Rose forever. 00:10:31.399 --> 00:10:33.960 Exactly. Or just locked into period dramas. Holy 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:36.679 smoke. Yeah. Is such a perfect example of that 00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:38.539 commitment. Tell us about that one. Well, she 00:10:38.539 --> 00:10:41.259 plays this. Quite unlikable, manipulative young 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:43.460 Australian woman who gets involved with a cult. 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:46.179 It required her to master a whole new accent, 00:10:46.419 --> 00:10:49.000 perform these really explicit daring scenes. 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:50.940 Yeah. Stuff that you'd think a young actress 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:52.720 fresh off the biggest movie in the world would 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:54.460 probably shy away from. Choosing complexity, 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:57.580 risk over safety and, you know, easy prestige. 00:10:58.179 --> 00:11:00.500 Completely. And what's also fascinating is that 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:03.259 right in the middle of all this intense, dramatic, 00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:06.820 almost kind of punishing work, she wins a Grammy 00:11:06.820 --> 00:11:09.620 Award. Wait, a Grammy amidst all this heavy drama? 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:13.139 Yeah. In 1999, for Best Spoken Word Album for 00:11:13.139 --> 00:11:16.259 Children, she narrated a story called The Face 00:11:16.259 --> 00:11:18.279 in the Lake. That's brilliant. It completely 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:20.960 disrupts that narrative of just the serious actress, 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:22.940 doesn't it? Shows her range of interest was maybe 00:11:22.940 --> 00:11:25.259 wider than people assume. A total curveball. 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:27.759 Yeah. But she did quickly return to the more 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:31.299 expected, respected dramas through to about 2003. 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:34.740 You've got Quills in 2000 playing Alondris opposite 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:37.389 Geoffrey Rush's Marquis de Sade. And Iris in 00:11:37.389 --> 00:11:40.309 2001, playing the young Iris Murdoch, got her 00:11:40.309 --> 00:11:42.629 third Oscar nomination for that, supporting Judi 00:11:42.629 --> 00:11:44.970 Dench. Right. And she filmed Iris while she was 00:11:44.970 --> 00:11:47.529 pregnant, which again shows that relentless focus. 00:11:47.590 --> 00:11:50.190 It was always about the intellectually and emotionally 00:11:50.190 --> 00:11:52.149 demanding work, whatever was going on in her 00:11:52.149 --> 00:11:55.049 personal life. Okay, so she successfully navigated 00:11:55.049 --> 00:11:57.789 that post -Titanic minefield, choosing art over 00:11:57.789 --> 00:12:00.730 stardom. That brings us nicely into Section 3, 00:12:00.909 --> 00:12:04.429 defining her modern career. Escaping the typecasting. 00:12:04.429 --> 00:12:07.529 And then this incredible run of awards success 00:12:07.529 --> 00:12:11.570 between, say, 2004 and 2011. Yeah, the big turning 00:12:11.570 --> 00:12:15.149 point here, consciously, was her decision around 00:12:15.149 --> 00:12:18.169 2004 that she... absolutely had to get out of 00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:20.690 the period drama box. She was actively looking 00:12:20.690 --> 00:12:23.110 for contemporary roles. And she found the perfect 00:12:23.110 --> 00:12:25.990 vehicle in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 00:12:26.149 --> 00:12:28.450 right? That Michel Gondry, Charlie Kaufman masterpiece. 00:12:28.870 --> 00:12:31.090 Absolutely perfect. Playing Clementine Khrushchensky, 00:12:31.210 --> 00:12:34.129 this impulsive, vibrant, blue -haired woman who 00:12:34.129 --> 00:12:36.509 decides to erase her ex -boyfriend from her memory. 00:12:36.590 --> 00:12:38.789 It was such a massive shift. It really let her 00:12:38.789 --> 00:12:40.809 show a different side, didn't it? That quirky, 00:12:40.929 --> 00:12:44.230 modern energy, but in a film that was also incredibly 00:12:44.230 --> 00:12:46.889 acclaimed critically. Exactly. She's called it 00:12:46.889 --> 00:12:48.950 one of her favorite roles and definitely a crucial 00:12:48.950 --> 00:12:51.610 turning point because it finally proved to directors 00:12:51.610 --> 00:12:54.190 and maybe to herself that she could do so much 00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:56.149 more than just corsets and bonnets. The critics 00:12:56.149 --> 00:12:57.850 loved it too, didn't they? That sense of her 00:12:57.850 --> 00:13:00.490 breaking free. They really did. They praised 00:13:00.490 --> 00:13:03.450 her for ditching that corseted English rose persona. 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:07.000 And even then, her dedication was noted. Apparently, 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:10.220 she took up kickboxing to stay agile and ready 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:12.259 for the improvisation that Gondry encouraged 00:13:12.259 --> 00:13:15.860 on set. And boom, another Oscar nomination, BAFTA 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:18.659 nomination. She was back in the awards conversation, 00:13:18.740 --> 00:13:21.399 but on her own terms now. Which set the stage 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:24.580 for her absolute peak awards moment, which has 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:27.399 to be 2008. Just an incredible year. She starred 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.279 in two huge, very challenging dramas, released 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:33.720 almost back to back. Revolutionary Road. and 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.120 the reader. Revolutionary Road was the big reunion 00:13:36.120 --> 00:13:38.659 with Leo DiCaprio, of course, directed by Sam 00:13:38.659 --> 00:13:41.000 Mendes, who she was married to at the time, playing 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:43.759 April Wheeler, that 1950s housewife whose dreams 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:46.240 are just crushed by suburbia. The emotional territory 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.639 there was just devastating, required incredible 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:51.259 depth. And typically she approached it with intense 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:53.679 preparation, researching the whole psychology 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:56.539 of that era, reading Betty Friedan's The Feminine 00:13:56.539 --> 00:13:59.059 Mystique. Yeah, really trying to get inside the 00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:01.179 heads of those unhappy housewives, understand 00:14:01.179 --> 00:14:03.740 that specific kind of despair. It's like she's 00:14:03.740 --> 00:14:06.240 blending sociology with her acting prep. And 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:08.679 as if that wasn't demanding enough, at the same 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:11.279 time, she takes on the reader. Right, stepping 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.960 in after Nicole Kidman had to drop out, playing 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:17.440 Hannah Schmitz, a former Nazi concentration camp 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:19.919 guard who is also illiterate. I mean, talk about 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.720 a morally complex, challenging role. That sounds 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.320 like walking an ethical tightrope for any actor. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:27.460 How did she even begin to research something 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:30.720 like that? Well, again, deep dive. Extensive 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:33.220 research on the Holocaust, specifically looking 00:14:33.220 --> 00:14:36.360 at the behavior of SS guards. And she also spent 00:14:36.360 --> 00:14:38.679 time with literacy groups to understand the profound 00:14:38.679 --> 00:14:41.580 shame and secrecy that comes with illiteracy. 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:43.620 Did she talk about the struggle of playing someone 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:46.159 like that? She did. She admitted it was incredibly 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:48.820 difficult psychologically. Finding that balance, 00:14:48.919 --> 00:14:51.210 playing the part. honestly, as she put it, but 00:14:51.210 --> 00:14:54.509 without somehow humanizing or excusing the character's 00:14:54.509 --> 00:14:57.669 horrific actions. It was about portraying a flawed, 00:14:57.789 --> 00:15:00.629 real person without absolving her history. And 00:15:00.629 --> 00:15:02.809 the award season that followed was just historic. 00:15:03.389 --> 00:15:06.289 Absolutely legendary. That one year, 2008 into 00:15:06.289 --> 00:15:09.490 2009, she wins two Golden Globes on the same 00:15:09.490 --> 00:15:12.370 night. Best Actress for Revolutionary Road, Best 00:15:12.370 --> 00:15:14.950 Supporting Actress for The Reader. Only two other 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:16.490 actresses had ever done that. And then finally, 00:15:16.730 --> 00:15:20.370 the Oscar. Finally. Academy Award for Best Actress 00:15:20.370 --> 00:15:22.970 for the Reader. She was 33 years old, and at 00:15:22.970 --> 00:15:25.309 that point, she became the youngest person ever 00:15:25.309 --> 00:15:28.970 to have racked up six Oscar nominations. Professionally, 00:15:28.970 --> 00:15:31.009 she was absolutely at the summit. But what's 00:15:31.009 --> 00:15:32.870 so interesting is what she did next. After all 00:15:32.870 --> 00:15:35.669 that intensity, the awards, the media frenzy, 00:15:35.669 --> 00:15:38.330 she didn't just launch into another film. She 00:15:38.330 --> 00:15:40.389 vanished. Exactly. The sources mention she took 00:15:40.389 --> 00:15:43.230 a two -year break. Just complete media exhaustion. 00:15:43.370 --> 00:15:46.029 The intensity of the work, the constant glare 00:15:46.029 --> 00:15:48.350 of the spotlight. It had clearly taken its toll. 00:15:48.490 --> 00:15:51.429 Unnecessary reset, maybe? Seems like it. A pause 00:15:51.429 --> 00:15:53.549 before her next really strategic move, which 00:15:53.549 --> 00:15:55.629 was to conquer premium television. Right. She 00:15:55.629 --> 00:15:58.590 comes back in 2011 with the HBO miniseries Mildred 00:15:58.590 --> 00:16:01.669 Pierce, a massive undertaking. Monumental is 00:16:01.669 --> 00:16:04.429 the word. Playing Mildred, this working class 00:16:04.429 --> 00:16:06.690 single mother battling through the Great Depression. 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:09.820 It was demanding in a totally different way from 00:16:09.820 --> 00:16:12.559 film. Apparently, she was in every single scene 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:16.659 of the entire, like, 280 -page script. Wow, the 00:16:16.659 --> 00:16:18.820 stamina required for that. Incredible. Something 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:21.320 few film actors really have to sustain. And she 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:22.960 brought a very personal connection to it, too, 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:24.899 didn't she? Relating it to her own life. She 00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:27.120 did. She talked about drawing parallels between 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:29.679 Mildred's struggles after her divorce and her 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:33.019 own recent separation from Sam Mendes. And again, 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:35.159 the dedication to detail. She learned how to 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:37.820 bake period -accurate pies, how to properly prepare 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:41.100 chickens for the role. Just total commitment 00:16:41.100 --> 00:16:43.379 to authenticity, even in the small things. And 00:16:43.379 --> 00:16:45.259 surprise, surprise, the awards rolled in again. 00:16:45.460 --> 00:16:48.679 Emmy, Golden Globes, SAG Award for Mildred Pierce. 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:51.220 It really cemented her status, didn't it? Not 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:54.419 just a film star, but... An absolute master of 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:58.039 demanding, long -form TV drama. Yeah. She did 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:00.080 dip back into film briefly around then, with 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:01.940 some high -profile ensembles that showed her 00:17:01.940 --> 00:17:04.380 range again, like playing that CDC doctor in 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:06.700 Contagion, apparently modeling the role on a 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:08.940 real -life disease detective. And Chichette, 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:11.279 yeah. And then Roman Polanski's Carnage, which 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:14.319 was basically filmed like a play, all set in 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:16.240 one apartment. A real actor's piece. Totally. 00:17:16.589 --> 00:17:20.509 But that big move into prestige TV with Mildred 00:17:20.509 --> 00:17:23.809 Pierce felt like it was signaling a really significant 00:17:23.809 --> 00:17:26.829 sustained shift in direction. Which brings us 00:17:26.829 --> 00:17:29.170 to section four, her more recent work, which 00:17:29.170 --> 00:17:31.950 seems defined by even more intense physicality, 00:17:31.950 --> 00:17:34.670 that specialized dedication and her really stepping 00:17:34.670 --> 00:17:37.349 up as a powerhouse producer, especially on TV. 00:17:37.509 --> 00:17:41.019 Absolutely. After 2011, the roles she picks often 00:17:41.019 --> 00:17:44.640 seem to hinge on these incredibly specific, often 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.880 very difficult physical or linguistic challenges, 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:51.599 like Steve Jobs in 2015. She won another BAFTA 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:53.759 for playing Joanna Hoffman, the Apple marketing 00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:55.950 exec. And the accent for that role was famously 00:17:55.950 --> 00:17:58.609 tricky, wasn't it? Oh, yeah. Hoffman has this 00:17:58.609 --> 00:18:01.470 unique Armenian -Polish hybrid accent filtered 00:18:01.470 --> 00:18:03.970 through living internationally. Winslet called 00:18:03.970 --> 00:18:06.029 it the most difficult accent she'd ever tackled 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:07.569 in her career. And she worked really closely 00:18:07.569 --> 00:18:09.289 with Michael Fassbender on that, right? Kind 00:18:09.289 --> 00:18:11.329 of mirroring their character's relationship. 00:18:12.029 --> 00:18:14.230 exactly just proving again she'll put in the 00:18:14.230 --> 00:18:17.529 work sacrifice comfort for total authenticity 00:18:17.529 --> 00:18:21.250 and then just two years later she actively goes 00:18:21.250 --> 00:18:23.990 looking for a role that was purely about physical 00:18:23.990 --> 00:18:26.920 endurance The mountain between us. Yeah. She 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:28.960 apparently wanted that physical challenge. Filming 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.200 up in the Canadian mountains, 10 ,000 feet up, 00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:34.019 doing her own stunts. She called it the most 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:36.460 physically demanding thing she'd ever done professionally. 00:18:36.779 --> 00:18:39.359 It's like she's constantly testing herself, pushing 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:41.559 her body, her technique. But the really major 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:44.559 shift, I think, has been her move into producing, 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:47.420 particularly with Mare of Easttown for HBO in 00:18:47.420 --> 00:18:50.910 2021. That felt like a career -defining performance, 00:18:51.289 --> 00:18:53.529 maybe. It was huge, critically. Playing Detective 00:18:53.529 --> 00:18:56.069 Mayor Sheehan, this woman wrestling with immense 00:18:56.069 --> 00:18:58.890 grief after her son's suicide. She didn't just 00:18:58.890 --> 00:19:01.430 act it. She executive produced it. And she dove 00:19:01.430 --> 00:19:03.349 deep into the character's trauma, didn't she? 00:19:03.450 --> 00:19:05.630 Consulting grief counselors, building this whole 00:19:05.630 --> 00:19:09.569 backstory. But also, the accent. That Delco accent, 00:19:09.829 --> 00:19:12.470 Philadelphia English, is notoriously hard to 00:19:12.470 --> 00:19:14.589 get right without sounding like a caricature. 00:19:14.730 --> 00:19:17.190 The fact that she nailed it and was an executive 00:19:17.190 --> 00:19:20.210 producer. really highlights her level of control 00:19:20.210 --> 00:19:23.789 now. As producer, she could shape the character, 00:19:23.950 --> 00:19:27.009 the whole narrative, insist on that authenticity 00:19:27.009 --> 00:19:29.869 for things like the accent, the emotional truth. 00:19:30.150 --> 00:19:32.789 And again, total award sweep, Emmy, Golden Globe, 00:19:33.029 --> 00:19:36.230 SAG. It felt like she'd moved from just mastering 00:19:36.230 --> 00:19:38.690 the craft to actually controlling the whole product. 00:19:38.849 --> 00:19:41.710 Which she then took even further with I Am Ruth 00:19:41.710 --> 00:19:44.339 in 2022. Tell us about that one. It involved 00:19:44.339 --> 00:19:46.299 her daughter, right? Yeah, this was fascinating. 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:48.579 A feature -length, largely improvised episode 00:19:48.579 --> 00:19:51.700 for a Channel 4 anthology series. She co -authored 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:54.019 it, produced it, and starred in it opposite her 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:56.380 own daughter, Mia Threepleton. And the subject 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.720 matter was very current, very relevant. Very. 00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:01.700 the damaging effects of social media on teenage 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:04.119 mental health. And this is where her public persona 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:06.799 and her work really started to merge. When she 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:09.420 won two BAFTAs for Best Actress and Best Single 00:20:09.420 --> 00:20:11.839 Drama as a producer, she used her acceptance 00:20:11.839 --> 00:20:14.960 speech to call on lawmakers to actually criminalize 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.759 harmful online content. Using her platform, her 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:20.619 producer power, to really set an agenda, that's 00:20:20.619 --> 00:20:23.759 a big shift. It's a powerful evolution. And then 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.920 sandwiched in there, she goes back to work with 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:28.819 James Cameron on the Avatar sequels and accepts 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:31.779 maybe the most extreme physical challenge of 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:34.619 her career yet. Oh, the breath holding. The seven 00:20:34.619 --> 00:20:37.559 minute breath hold for Avatar. The Way of Water 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:41.059 in 2022. It involved motion capture, but also 00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:43.859 required intensive freediving training. And she 00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:46.339 held her breath underwater for seven minutes 00:20:46.339 --> 00:20:49.380 and 14 seconds, breaking Tom Cruise's on -set 00:20:49.380 --> 00:20:52.980 record just to film one scene. I mean, seven 00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:54.920 minutes. How do you even train your body for 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:57.039 that? It speaks to her dedication, obviously, 00:20:57.059 --> 00:20:59.920 but it almost sounds... beyond what's necessary. 00:21:00.059 --> 00:21:02.519 It's an insane record for an actor. It just shows 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:04.539 her commitment is absolute, I think. She's not 00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:06.500 afraid of the physical sacrifice if she believes 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:08.700 in the project of the director. And of course, 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:11.319 Avatar 2 was another massive global hit, her 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.119 second film after Titanic, to cross that $2 billion 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:16.880 mark. Proving she can still do the massive blockbusters, 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:19.140 but seemingly only when they offer some kind 00:21:19.140 --> 00:21:21.440 of extreme artistic or physical challenge she 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.269 wants to conquer? Exactly. And her more recent 00:21:24.269 --> 00:21:26.509 work continues that trend of her taking control 00:21:26.509 --> 00:21:29.569 as executive producer on complex, high -concept 00:21:29.569 --> 00:21:33.730 projects. She EP'd and starred in Lee, the biopic 00:21:33.730 --> 00:21:36.390 about war photographer Lee Miller. And just recently, 00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:39.519 The Regime playing that. Autocratic chancellor. 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:42.319 Right. A political satire. And even for that, 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:45.400 playing this megalomaniac dictator, she consulted 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:48.200 a neuroscientist and a psychotherapist to build 00:21:48.200 --> 00:21:50.259 the character's psychological backstory. That 00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:52.400 level of research, it just never stops, does 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:54.819 it? Whatever the genre. And the next big step 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:57.769 is already lined up. Directing. Yeah, she's set 00:21:57.769 --> 00:21:59.910 to make her feature directorial debut with a 00:21:59.910 --> 00:22:02.609 film called Goodbye June. And get this, it's 00:22:02.609 --> 00:22:05.329 written by her son, Joe Anders. She'll also star 00:22:05.329 --> 00:22:08.170 in Produce. Wow. So the control moves fully behind 00:22:08.170 --> 00:22:10.660 the camera now, involving her. family, shaping 00:22:10.660 --> 00:22:13.119 her own creative agenda. It really feels like 00:22:13.119 --> 00:22:15.839 the culmination of this 30 -year journey, moving 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:18.619 from being the subject of the camera to the power 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:21.059 directing it. So let's wrap up in our final section 00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:23.420 by looking at the Kate Winslet persona outside 00:22:23.420 --> 00:22:26.700 the roles. Her public image, her activism, how 00:22:26.700 --> 00:22:29.019 she manages this incredibly demanding career 00:22:29.019 --> 00:22:32.160 alongside a family life she seems to guard quite 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:34.660 fiercely. Well, journalists consistently describe 00:22:34.660 --> 00:22:37.420 her as You know, one of the best actresses of 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:40.480 her generation. There's often talk of this authoritative, 00:22:40.539 --> 00:22:43.819 almost ambassadorial. quality she has. She comes 00:22:43.819 --> 00:22:46.779 across as deeply serious about the work. And 00:22:46.779 --> 00:22:49.000 her colleagues seem to back that up. Leonardo 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:51.240 DiCaprio famously called her the most prepared 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:54.940 and well -researched actor on set. And she herself 00:22:54.940 --> 00:22:57.140 talks about wanting to be the character, not 00:22:57.140 --> 00:22:59.940 just act the part. That tendency to gravitate 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:02.799 towards these complex, often angst -ridden or 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:05.700 troubled women means she finds it genuinely hard 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:07.880 to switch off afterwards. It's clearly all -consuming 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:10.019 work for her. But that intensity about her craft 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:12.480 is often contrasted with her very public, very 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:14.779 strong stance on body image, isn't it? She uses 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:17.119 her fame quite deliberately there. Oh, absolutely. 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:20.339 She's been incredibly outspoken for years about 00:23:20.339 --> 00:23:22.740 rejecting Hollywood's narrow beauty standards, 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:25.500 refusing to let the industry dictate her weight 00:23:25.500 --> 00:23:27.359 or appearance. And she's backed it up legally, 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:30.740 too. We found details of two major libel cases 00:23:30.740 --> 00:23:34.240 she won. One against GQ magazine back in 2003. 00:23:34.420 --> 00:23:37.400 For digitally altering photos of her, making 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:39.940 her look thinner and taller without asking her 00:23:39.940 --> 00:23:42.680 first. Right. And another against Grazia magazine 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:45.839 in 2007 for falsely claiming she was seeing a 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:48.220 dietician. And the Grazia case is interesting 00:23:48.220 --> 00:23:50.839 because she didn't just win. She donated the 00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:53.640 damages she received to an eating disorder charity. 00:23:53.900 --> 00:23:56.740 So she's using that legal victory. to make a 00:23:56.740 --> 00:23:58.920 point and support others. Her stance on natural 00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:01.160 aging is also really prominent. She was part 00:24:01.160 --> 00:24:03.500 of that British anti -cosmetic surgery league 00:24:03.500 --> 00:24:05.940 with Emma Thompson and Rachel Weisz. Yeah, encouraging 00:24:05.940 --> 00:24:08.819 women to embrace aging naturally. And she apparently 00:24:08.819 --> 00:24:12.759 regularly tells magazines and brands not to Photoshop 00:24:12.759 --> 00:24:15.180 her wrinkles in pictures. She's actively using 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:17.960 her clout, her image, to try and shift industry 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:20.799 norms. Beyond controlling her own image, her 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:23.519 charity work also seems very intentional, often 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:26.160 quite personal. Definitely. Like the Golden Hat 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:29.000 Foundation she co -founded in 2010. That was 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.240 inspired by watching a documentary about autism 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:34.099 in Iceland. And it's dedicated to raising autism 00:24:34.099 --> 00:24:36.339 awareness. She even wrote a book about it. And 00:24:36.339 --> 00:24:38.299 she's lent her voice to other causes, too. A 00:24:38.299 --> 00:24:40.539 PETA video against Foie Gras production. And 00:24:40.539 --> 00:24:42.980 quite touchingly, she and Leo DiCaprio teamed 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.259 up again, not just for climate change awareness, 00:24:45.519 --> 00:24:47.940 but they privately helped pay the nursing home 00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:50.920 fees for Milvina Dean. who was the last living 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:53.539 survivor of the actual Titanic. Wow, that connection 00:24:53.539 --> 00:24:56.839 back to the film decades later. It's quite something. 00:24:57.019 --> 00:25:00.119 It shows a real loyalty, doesn't it? And finally, 00:25:00.119 --> 00:25:02.900 there's her family life, which she clearly prioritizes 00:25:02.900 --> 00:25:05.940 intensely, despite all the public scrutiny. She's 00:25:05.940 --> 00:25:07.799 been married three times, currently married to 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:10.779 Edward Abel Smith since 2012. He's Richard Branson's 00:25:10.779 --> 00:25:13.400 nephew. And it's maybe not a conventional Hollywood 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:15.859 setup, but it seems anchored by that same sense 00:25:15.859 --> 00:25:18.359 of dedication she brings to her work. We read 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:20.740 that her husband actually legally added Winslet 00:25:20.740 --> 00:25:22.960 as one of his middle names. Yeah, apparently 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:25.279 just because the kids have it on their passports. 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:28.319 And he wanted them all to feel unified as a family 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:31.109 unit, which says a lot. She's always insisted 00:25:31.109 --> 00:25:33.210 that, you know, despite the different marriages, 00:25:33.230 --> 00:25:35.150 different fathers for her children, it doesn't 00:25:35.150 --> 00:25:38.029 make them less of a family. She actively schedules 00:25:38.029 --> 00:25:41.069 her filming around school holidays. And her husband 00:25:41.069 --> 00:25:44.329 became a stay -at -home dad after they got married, 00:25:44.450 --> 00:25:47.329 which presumably allows for that space to work 00:25:47.329 --> 00:25:50.089 but also be present. She talks about enjoying 00:25:50.089 --> 00:25:52.450 the normal stuff, packing lunches, doing the 00:25:52.450 --> 00:25:54.230 school run. It's like the woman who conquered 00:25:54.230 --> 00:25:56.730 Hollywood in the award circuit is just as committed 00:25:56.730 --> 00:25:59.549 to the everyday domestic routine. That dedication 00:25:59.549 --> 00:26:01.910 to finding a balance might be the most effective 00:26:01.910 --> 00:26:05.569 part of her sort of anti -stardom shield, applying 00:26:05.569 --> 00:26:08.089 the same discipline to her personal life as she 00:26:08.089 --> 00:26:10.349 does to her acting prep. So we're trying to sum 00:26:10.349 --> 00:26:13.069 up her identity. She's this critically revered 00:26:13.069 --> 00:26:15.869 English actress defined by this absolute commitment 00:26:15.869 --> 00:26:19.450 to deeply complex, often really difficult characters, 00:26:19.529 --> 00:26:22.029 and equally defined by these principled stands 00:26:22.029 --> 00:26:24.930 she takes outside of acting, fighting body shaming, 00:26:24.990 --> 00:26:27.769 advocating for online safety as a producer. And 00:26:27.769 --> 00:26:30.890 she's achieved that rare ego minus one status. 00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:33.809 She's got the Oscar, multiple Emmys, the Grammys 00:26:33.809 --> 00:26:36.910 just needs the Tony Award. Her whole career path 00:26:36.910 --> 00:26:39.829 just screams artistic challenge over easy money. 00:26:40.960 --> 00:26:43.279 It proves that maybe real longevity isn't always 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:46.140 found in the biggest blockbusters, but in depth, 00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:48.740 integrity and making very deliberate choices. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:51.140 Absolutely. She leveraged the world's biggest 00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:53.680 film, used that platform, but then deliberately 00:26:53.680 --> 00:26:55.779 steered herself towards independent film and 00:26:55.779 --> 00:26:58.480 prestige TV to keep learning, keep evolving. 00:26:58.920 --> 00:27:02.039 So given her success now as an executive producer, 00:27:02.380 --> 00:27:05.200 co -writing I Am Ruth, her son writing her upcoming 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:08.490 directorial debut. The big question, the provocative 00:27:08.490 --> 00:27:10.910 thought we want to leave you with is this. Is 00:27:10.910 --> 00:27:12.990 the intensely prepared actress now making the 00:27:12.990 --> 00:27:15.609 final transition, becoming that powerful, agenda 00:27:15.609 --> 00:27:17.990 -setting voice behind the camera? What path do 00:27:17.990 --> 00:27:19.849 you take creatively once you've pretty much done 00:27:19.849 --> 00:27:22.250 it all as a performer, conquered every challenge, 00:27:22.329 --> 00:27:24.849 embodied almost every kind of complex woman imaginable? 00:27:24.950 --> 00:27:26.690 We'll have to wait and see what director Winslet 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:28.569 does next, how she shapes that next chapter. 00:27:28.730 --> 00:27:30.910 A fascinating career to track. Thank you for 00:27:30.910 --> 00:27:31.890 joining us for this deep dive.