My pride at filming lesbian sex scenes with Saoirse Ronan who’s half my age, by Kate Winslet
KATE Winslet has told of her pride at filming a lesbian sex scene with Carlow star Saoirse Ronan in her latest project – as she stripped down to her ‘40something post-children body’.
Their film Ammonite, which tells the story of English fossil-hunter Mary Anning and the married woman she had a relationship with, is being tipped as a possible Oscar winner.
It makes its world premiere next month and sees the Titanic actress get intimate with Ms Ronan, 26. Mother -ofthree Ms Winslet told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘I’m nearly 45, and Saoirse is almost half my age. And to have an opportunity to be my real 40-something self, post-children, you know? I was just excited to say, “This is what it is, peeps. This is how I am now, and it’s very much not the body I had 20 years ago”.’
Ms Winslet said British director Francis Lee was ‘nervous’ ahead of filming the explicit scenes so she and Ms Ronan, who plays geologist Charlotte Murchison, choreographed the steamy sequence. The trailer teases a naked Ms Winslet in bed while other shots capture her kissing her co-star. The English actress, who famously stripped off in Titanic, said she revelled in having the courage to show off her body, having spent years losing weight for roles.
‘I felt the proudest I’ve ever felt doing a love scene on Ammonite. And I felt by far the least self-conscious,’ she said.
Ammonite was scheduled to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but was pushed back until the Toronto International Film Festival next week. Ms Winslet won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in 2008’s The Reader, while Ms Ronan has been nominated on four occasions.