The stars of one of the most popular Christmas films of all time says she hardly ever watches the movie despite being a popular choice for families over the festive season
One of the stars of an iconic Christmas film says she never watches her movie for one simple reason.
Kate Winslet starred in The Holiday in 2006 with Jude Law, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black. The film, which has become a Christmas classic, sees two unlucky love woman – played by Winslet and Diaz – switch their homes on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Despite the huge commercial success of the film released almost 20 years ago, the Oscar-winning actress insists she hasn’t seen The Holidays for many years.
Speaking to the BBC, she admitted that she and her family “don’t sit down and watch films I’m in”.
The romcom shows Winslet, who plays Iris Simpkins, and Diaz arranging a transatlantic house swap over the Christmas holidays. Winslet spends the Christmas season in Los Angeles where she meets a love interest, played by Black.
Diaz’s character falls for Winslet’s on-screen brother, played by Law, when she stays in a cottage in the Cotswolds’ countryside.
The Holiday has become a popular move for families to watch at Christmas along with other seasonal films like Home Alone, Love Actually and It’s A Wonderful Life.
Winslet, who won the best actress Oscar for her role in The Reader while she has been nominated six more times, said she watches “almost everything” she has starred in just once.
She added: “When you watch the finished product, for most actors, that’s an excruciating experience. It’s something you kind of have to go through.”
Winslet also received best actress nominations for Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Little Children. She was put forward for best supporting actress for her roles in Sense and Sensibility, Iris and Steve Jobs.
The actress has recently gone behind the camera for the first time. Her directorial debut, Goodbye June, will be released on Netflix on Christmas Eve.
The film, written by her son Joe Anders, sees siblings navigating family tension as their mother, who is approaching the end of her life, undergoes palliative care during the holiday period. The screenplay was inspired by the death of Winslet’s mother, Sally, who died from ovarian cancer in 2017.
Explaining why she has decided to go behind the camera now, Winslet said: “Now is a time when I’ve felt that my children are grown up enough that I can be that little more absent, just mentally absent.
“I just don’t think I would have honestly had the time before now, because I’ve been a mum since I was 25 and that’s been my priority alongside acting, and that was already a bit of a juggle.”
