Kate Winslet Opens Up About Early Romantic Experiences and Connection to Heavenly Creatures Role
Kate Winslet is discussing her early romantic experiences.
The Oscar winner, 50, reflected on her initial film role in 1994’s Heavenly Creatures during a recent appearance on the “Team Deakins” podcast and explained how her own teenage inquisitiveness aided her in understanding her character.
In the biographical film, Winslet and Melanie Lynskey portrayed real-life teenagers Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme, whose intense relationship with each other ultimately led to them murdering Parker’s mother.
“I’ll share something I’ve never spoken about before. I mean, some of my first, rather, intimate experiences as a young teen were actually with women,” Winslet revealed on the Wednesday, December 24, episode of acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins’ podcast. “Like, I had kissed a few women, I had kissed a few men, but I wasn’t particularly drawn in either direction.”
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She continued, “At that point in my life, I certainly was curious, and I think there was something about the truly deep connection that those two women had that I profoundly understood.”
“I was so immediately drawn into the world they were creating, that obviously became terribly damaging to both of them and they had significant insecurities and vulnerabilities,” Winslet said.
“They committed a violent act because they genuinely believed that that person was preventing them from being together. And whilst, of course, I couldn’t truly grasp that aspect, I could certainly understand how susceptible a young person’s mind can become to the influence of just one other person,” the actress added.
Heavenly Creatures, co-written and directed by Lord of the Rings’ Peter Jackson, was a critical success and received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 1995 Academy Awards.
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In 2023, Lynskey, 48, disclosed how losing contact with Winslet, with whom she described having a “very intense” friendship while filming Heavenly Creatures, left her feeling heartbroken.
“When I lost touch with Kate, it was more painful than some romantic endings I’ve experienced,” the Yellowjackets actress said during an April 2023 interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “It was so distressing and it wasn’t as though anything negative occurred. It was simply that she became a major, international film star and she didn’t have much time and then, suddenly, she’d be in Los Angeles and unable to make time.”
“It happens in relationships. People naturally grow apart, but that was so difficult for me,” Lynskey said, noting that she’s had similar experiences with other costars she grew fond of. “I did a movie with this performer and when we finished I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m just so happy that I met you and we have this friendship,’ and she said, ‘Yeah, I don’t maintain friendships with actors. I don’t stay friends with actors.’ And I was just like, ‘What?’ I was so taken aback by it.”
“I was so sensitive. I was always so hurt by losing these wonderful connections I was forming. You know, It got easier,” Lynskey added.
