Kate Winslet explains why she took smaller roles after “Titanic” success - “My life was unpleasant”

Kate Winslet has revealed that her life after the monumental success of James Cameron’s “Titanic” in 1997 left her in a period where her “life was unpleasant,” the actress told Net-a-Porter in a recent interview. The picture, which garnered the Best Film Oscar at the 1998 Academy Awards and grossed over $1 billion worldwide may have turned Winslet and co-star Leonard DiCaprio into overnight sensations, but with it came an overwhelming amount of what she regarded as press intrusion.

“I felt like [in the aftermath of ‘Titanic’] 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. 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.”

Her recent comments echo similar sentiments Winslet made in 2022, as she recalled on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that despite the humour in the age-old question “Was there room on the door at the end of the movie,” the actress instead was met with a torrent of body-shaming abuse. “Apparently I was too fat,” Winslet said. “Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f**king fat.”

“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.’ That’s bullying, you know, and actually borderline abusive, I would say.”

However, having grown up in the filmmaking industry during a period when waves of changes started to occur, including female actors able to voice their concerns and show a degree of agency, Winslet seems happy with how things have changed since she was 22 years old. 

“[...] the film industry [...] is really changing. When I was younger my agent would get calls saying, ‘How’s her weight?’ I kid you not. So it’s heartwarming that this has started to change,” she admitted in an interview with The Sunday Times.

Where can I stream "Titanic" in the United Kingdom?

"Titanic" is available to stream now on Dinsey+ (subscription required)