The Divergent Series consists of three science fiction action films that are set in a dystopian society: Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant.
Actress Kate Winslet played the role of Jeanine Matthews – the erudite leader and the main antagonist in Divergent and Insurgent. But her character, Jeanine, met a fatal end in 2015’s Insurgent.
That’s when the Divergent author faced a heart-wrenching moment when Winslet’s son asked her about killing off her mother’s character.
Kate Winslet’s Son Asked Divergent Author About Mom’s Character’s Death
Kate Winslet portrayed a corrupt leader in the first two Divergent movies, but her character, Jeanine, was stabbed to death. Veronica Roth, the author, shared a funny story involving Winslet’s son Joe regarding this plot point:
“The best thing that happened was probably when her son was on set and he came up to me and he said, ‘Why did you kill my mom?’ I said, ‘I didn’t know it would be your mom when I did it,’ And he was like, ‘That makes sense.’ That was it. He walked away after that.”
Joe, 19, was about 11 years old when he asked Roth about his mom’s character. It’s understandable for a child of that age to watch his mom getting killed off on a set.
The director shared with People that she told Joe that she decided to kill the character long before knowing Winslet would play that role. Eventually, the Titanic star was cast in the movies, and she had an amazing experience with Winslet.
Veronica Roth Praises Kate Winslet’s Friendly Nature on Set
Veronica Roth had a positive experience working with Kate Winslet and described the actress as “very friendly.” She said (via People):
“You can always tell something about a person by the way they treat the assistants on set, and she was such a joy to deal with for all of them. I’ve been a fan of hers for a long time and she was so cool — just really aggressively cool.”
There’s also a fun fact. The Hollywood actress took the role in Divergent to impress her kids. Winslet has an eldest daughter, Mia (13 at the time), Joe and she was also pregnant with her third child, Bear. Her middle child, Joe, had the opportunity to be on set and to meet the author of Divergent books.
