Kate Winslet, despite her success on a global scale and her Oscar win, was still hesitant to collaborate with certain people in the business, most notably Woody Allen. The Titanic actress, 48, is renowned for her exceptional acting talent and several honors, which include a BAFTA and Academy Award for her performance in The Reader. In fact, her daughter, 23-year-old Mia Threapleton, appears to have inherited her mother’s tenacity and independence.
The young British actress encouraged her Academy Award-winning mother to collaborate with the Manhattan director. Winslet revealed to Gary Oldman during a session of Variety’s Actors on Actors how anxious she felt when Allen asked her to star in his $15.9 million period drama Wonder Wheel.
Kate Winslet Almost Refused To Do Wonder Wheel
During Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Kate Winslet spoke about her initial thoughts on working with Woody Allen in between her conversation with Gary Oldman. She recalled receiving a call from her agent in 2016 letting her know that Woody Allen was interested in casting her for the lead role in Wonder Wheel. However, she claimed that she was anxious, particularly during the first phone call:
“Immediately I’m not being myself and I hate myself and I’m thanking God that I’m not auditioning because I definitely would not have gotten the job.”
The mother of three claimed that she had been preparing to spend the summer exploring new places with her family when she received a call from Allen asking her to read the script and consider the role. She had initially intended to stick with her plan of taking some time off from acting to spend more time with her family, but her “daughter” eventually persuaded her to take the role:
“My daughter overhears this conversation, and she goes, ‘Mom, get over yourself. Of course you’re going to bloody do it.’”
Winslet claimed that she spent the rest of the summer memorizing her lines and getting in the right frame of mind:
“I wanted to be everything that Woody Allen had hoped that I would be and I wanted to be more and I wanted to be able to surprise him and surpass his expectations.”
Kate Winslet Justified Her Decision To Work With Woody Allen
Kate Winslet has defended her choice to appear in Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel, in the wake of the acclaimed director being accused of s*xual abuse. She told the New York Times:
“Of course one thinks about it. But at the same time, I didn’t know Woody and I don’t know anything about that family. As the actor in the film, you just have to step away and say, I don’t know anything, really, and whether any of it is true or false. Having thought it all through, you put it to one side and just work with the person.”
The actress of Allen’s 2016 film Café Society, Blake Lively has also been questioned about how it was for them to work with him despite the accusations leveled against him. She remarked to the Los Angeles Times:
“It is amazing what Woody has written for women. It’s very dangerous to factor in things you don’t know anything about. I could [only] know my experience. And my experience with Woody is he’s empowering to women.”
Allen was allegedly charged in 1992 with s*xually abusing his adopted daughter; however, he has consistently denied the accusations. In 1997, he married Soon-Yi Previn, and the couple had two adopted kids.
Winslet will next be seen in Avatar 3, a 20th Century Studios epic science fiction film set to be released on December 19, 2025.
Stream Wonder Wheel on Amazon Prime Video.
