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29
November 2006
Kate
Winslet Finds It Hard
Playing A
Brit
Born
and raised in England,
and a resident of
London, Kate
Winslet
ought to have an easy
time playing a modern
British woman.
Right?
Wrong!
In comedy film "The
Holiday," which debuts
in the United States on
December 8, Kate
Winslet, 31, plays a
Londoner who finds
romance while on
vacation in Los
Angeles.
"I
was surprised how
nervous I was just
playing an English
woman," Winslet told
reporters
recently.
In
roughly 15 years in
movies, the "Titanic"
star has played English
women in historical
films like "Sense and
Sensibility" and
American women in
contemporary works such
as "Little Children," a
movie now showing in
which Kate Winslet's
performance is being
called worthy of an
Oscar
nomination.
But
never has she played the
type of woman she really
is.
"I
did not like the
feeling, initially; I
thought: 'Well, what do
you mean I can't hide
behind something? What
do you mean I don't have
a wig or an accent or a
strange costume?' It was
me and my hair and my
voice and clothes I
would choose to wear,"
she said. "It was
definitely harder than I
thought."
"The
Holiday" is a romantic
comedy, which was
another departure for
the actress best known
for dramas. And the idea
of making people laugh
sent fear through
Winslet's
mind.
"The
worry of 'Can I be
funny?' It is a terrible
thing to be concerned
about," she
said.
Kate
Winslet added that she
and "Holiday" co-star
Jude Law would talk
about the movie before
filming and wonder what
might happen if director
Nancy Meyer grew bored
with them.
"They
are going to fire us.
They're going to recast.
What if we don't make
them laugh?" she
said.
Fire
Winslet?
Hardly.
When
looking for an actress
to play the role of the
love-starved Brit,
Meyer, the director of
comedies like "Private
Benjamin" and
"Something's Gotta
Give," said Winslet was
a top choice among
possible
candidates.
"If
you're thinking of a
British girl, 30, you
think of Kate," she
said.
This
year in Hollywood, a lot
of people will have
Winslet on their
mind.
The
actress who has been
nominated for four
Oscars is again among
the leading contenders
for the world's top film
honours for her
portrayal of a bored
housewife who begins an
extra-marital affair in
dark drama "Little
Children."
And
"The Holiday" could play
a pivotal role in
whether she is able to
earn a nomination
because historically,
voters at the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences have honoured
actresses who can
manifest talent in a
wide range of
work.
This
year, Winslet has played
a troubled daughter in a
rich family in "All The
King's Men," the
cheating spouse Sarah in
"Little Children" and
the good-humoured Iris
in "Holiday."
However,
she faces stiff
competition from Cate
Blanchett who also
appears in three diverse
roles this Oscar season
in "Babel," "The Good
German" and "Notes on a
Scandal."
Other
actresses winning early
plaudits include
Penelope Cruz in
"Volver," Helen Mirren
in "The Queen," and Dame
Judi Dench for "Notes on
a Scandal."
Winslet
said she does not read
her reviews, so she is
"blissfully unaware" of
all the awards talk.
Still, she added that
she is humbled by the
attention.
"I
do take it very
seriously. Of course I
do. I'm an actress
trying to do the best
job I can, and when you
get that kind of pat on
the back and
acknowledgement from the
industry, that's huge!,"
she said.
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