Kate Winslet is probably one of our best known stars. A solid A-list actress for almost two decades, her face is recognizable to anyone who knows anything about movies. She also seems to be one of our most down to Earth movie stars. And that’s why it’s nice to see that even the most modest famous people can fall prey to some behavior that lifts them above the little people.
Talking to Esquire U.K., Winslet discussed the lengthy hours they spent shooting her latest film, Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs. While on set, she complained about the long process, and received a dressing down from a prop worker. Winslet said:
I remember saying out loud, 'God, I'm so knackered.' And the props woman, who I knew from a couple of other jobs, said, 'Honey, we're here for a lot longer than you are. Shut the fuck up.' And I went, 'Oh my God, you're so right.'
It’s not surprising at all that someone of Winslet's filmic stature would forget about the likely overworked and overlooked crew members, but it is nice to see her accept a dressing down from one of them with humor and grace. Not many of film’s new icons (or the icons of yesteryear, actually) would probably be so easygoing as to take the blunt words of a prop lady to heart.
Steve Jobs, of course, is the already much-discussed non-biopic about the mastermind behind many of the most identifiable and influential tech products of the last few decades. Instead of being a birth-to-death story of the Apple genius, the film covers personal and professional conflicts for Jobs during the moments before three of his famous product launches.
Kate Winslet put her name in the running for the role of Joanna Hoffman, Macintosh marketing chief and Steve Jobs’ right hand woman at the company who has also been called his "work wife". She also detailed her fierce desire and effort to get the job in the Esquire piece. She said:
Life's too short to have a fucking ego. With Steve Jobs, I went after that role. I googled Joanna [Hoffman] and took one look at her and thought, "Of course they're not thinking of me; I looking fucking nothing like her." I took all the make-up off my face, plonked on a wig and a pair of glasses, took one photo, and sent it to [producer] Scott Rudin, who I know from The Reader and Revolutionary Road, with no message. I had nothing to lose. What were they going to do? Say, "Thanks very much Kate, really sweet of you, but actually, no"? Doesn't matter. Life's for living.
It appears that Kate Winslet really is a down-to-Earth movie star who works hard for everything she’s gotten, especially those 101 acting award nominations from a wide variety of organizations, and her Oscar win for The Reader in 2009. This just goes to show you, even if it makes them a bit snotty sometimes, movie stars can always let someone bring them back down to Earth if they’re open.
Steve Jobs opens in a limited release this weekend and goes wide on October 23.
