2006 was quite a year for the very versatile Kate Winslet. Winslet showed off her comedic skills in her very first starring role in a rom com – The Holiday. She also provided the voice of a rat with attitude in the animated family film Flushed Away and was part of the ensemble cast in the remake of All the King’s Men. But the 2006 film role that’s really drawn rave reviews from critics is her starring turn in Little Children, a romantic drama co-starring Patrick Wilson and written/directed by Todd Field.
Did Motherhood Influence Her Portrayal of Sarah in Little Children?: “It’s funny because I’ve been asked that question in the past about other characters. For example, the woman that I play in Hideous Kinky has two children and also in Finding Neverland. And in every case, in all of those films, I’ve said absolutely yes. ‘I could not have played this part if I had not of been a parent.’ But the truth is with Sarah I don’t know how much of a difference it made, to be honest with you.
It definitely helped in the sense that I knew the kind of parent that Sarah wanted ultimately to be. I knew about the joys of parenting and how life changing it can be, and how inspiring it can be. And how much happiness it can give you on a daily basis. So it gave me a very profound understanding of what she was missing out on. But in terms of actual parenting skills that were useful, well, no, because she has very little when it comes to that.
I was able to see the mistakes she was making as a parent, just in the sense that she’s a woman who chooses to see the presence of her child as an obstacle. Her child is somebody who gets in the way of her being herself. But the problem with Sarah is that she’s lost all motivation to actually be herself and she’s forgotten who that person used to be. She’s so lost on all counts.”
Winslet added, “It was bloody hard I tell you, it was really hard, and not easy, not easy playing a person who is a less than perfect parent. It wasn’t comfortable at all. But, you know, at the same time she doesn’t hit her child. She doesn’t yell at her. She’s not cruel, she just doesn’t know how to show her love for this child. She doesn’t know how to be fully responsible for this child and those are her weaknesses.
I really truly did have an amazing relationship with Sadie May Goldstein who plays Lucy. I knew that she had to love me and I had to love her. She had to trust me and I had to explain to her that in the moments when I wasn’t looking her in the eye and I was a little bit kind of off-hand with her, that it was all just part of our great big game we were playing. She totally got it. And whenever she would do something that was just wonderful without realizing that she was doing it, you know I was the first one to pick her up. I would be almost like the hysterical, over-the-top parent, just paying her way too much attention. I would pick her up and go, ‘Wow, you’re so brilliant! Woo hoo!’ And just swinging her around in circles and running to the monitor and saying, ‘Guess what? We get to watch you on TV now. Look.’ She’d sit there with her little headphones watching herself. She’d say, ‘Wow, we really did it Kate Winslet,’ she would say. She was absolutely wonderful that child. Absolutely wonderful.”
Kate Winslet Reacts to the Oscar Buzz Associated with Little Children: “Well the first thing I’d say is I haven’t read any reviews so I’m blissfully unaware. I don’t tend to read reviews; it’s just a part of how I go about life. But it means a lot to me and I do take it very seriously. Of course I do, you know. I’m an actress trying to do the best job I possibly can and when you get that kind of pat on the back and acknowledgement from the industry… I mean it’s the biggest awards ceremony in the world and historically so, too. That’s huge. I’m very proud to have been nominated before. You know when you really put your heart and soul into something, as you know I certainly did with Little Children - and The Holiday too is no exception - but Little Children was a very difficult part for me to play. It was a difficult film to make in the sense that the subject was tough and just the story, it was hard. And so of course I take it seriously. I’m human.”
Winslet admits to having no idea which performance people might latch onto and promote as Oscar-worthy. “The truth is you never know what’s going to happen. You know, I’m aware that there’s buzz surrounding Little Children but who knows? The movie may slide off the map. It may not even enter the radar. I mean you just don’t know. You just honestly don’t know. And because I don’t read reviews and because I’m so unaware of what people are saying, I genuinely don’t have a sense of how much staying power it’s going to have. But listen, of course it would mean everything to me if it went all the way.”
