Kate Winslet Enjoyed the Power She in ‘Divergent’
Actor Kate Winslet portrayed a villain for the first time in her career by starring in Divergent. Although she hated the character, she admitted that she found a thrill in her powerful role.
Kate Winslet was excited about the idea of playing a powerful character
Winslet was more than intrigued by the role she was offered in Divergent. Her character Jeanine being so vile was one of the main reasons she decided to contribute to the sci-fi franchise.
“The novelty of that was definitely the most thrilling, really, but also playing a character who could be many versions of nasty — there is lot that is sinister about her. That, as an actor, provided me with a platform to have a lot of fun and try lots of different things,” she once told Time.
But at the same time, the Titanic star found something alluring about playing a character that powerful.
“To have that level of power over all those individuals, that was just a really exciting, new thing for me to play around with. And I could be a part of something that is a pleasure for so many people to watch. So many people are in anticipation of its release. It’s lovely to be apart of something like that,” she said.
Still, there were times even Winslet was put off by the brutality of her character. So much so she even compared her to Hitler.
“I watched Insurgent the other night, and I really sat there thinking to myself, ‘Oh my god, she is Hitler.’ It is harsh, but it’s the truth. Her behavior is diabolical. It really is appalling. The only thing that saved me from disliking her as much as I did is that I know she never existed. Somehow that saved me. I was able to laugh. It’s what you have to do when you play somebody like that,” Winslet said.
Kate Winslet wanted more fight scenes with Shailene Woodley in ‘Divergent’
Given the action and suspense present in the Divergent series, the film’s star Woodley was involved in a lot of stunts. The sequences left her with a lot of bruises and wounds, but for the most part, the actor confided that she had a good time.
“Oh man, the stunts were fun, the fighting sequences were really neat,” Woodley once told The Hollywood Reporter. “I enjoyed those. None of it is real, so the choreography aspect — it’s sort of like dancing. You gotta get the rhythm.”
Winslet, however, wished she participated in the fight scenes a little more in Insurgent. If only to make up for the fight scenes that she didn’t have with Woodley in the first Divergent movie.
“You know, I do actually wish there had been more fighting with this one, only because when we were shooting Divergent I was actually pregnant and didn’t have a huge amount of physical strength,” she said. “There was a lot, to be honest with you, that the stunt double did because of my condition! So although I wasn’t entirely back in my pre-baby shape, it would have been nice to have thrown a few punches in Shai’s direction! But I do prefer hugging her to hitting her.”
Kate Winslet felt ‘Divergent’ gave her cool points with her kids
Perhaps what was most exciting about being a part of the sci-fi series was her children’s reactions. Divergent was exactly the kind of film her kids were getting into, and they were ecstatic to hear their mom got the part.
“My daughter is going to be 13, and my son is almost 10, and they’re getting to that age where this is the type of literature they’re going to be reading very soon,” she once told MTV News. “In fact, my daughter, two days ago, came home from school and went, ‘Mom! You’re never going to believe it. Rufus came up to me at school and said, ‘Is your mom really in Divergent? Is there going to be a premiere? Can you get me a ticket?’ My daughter suddenly [had a] new-found respect. ‘My mum is actually really cool.’ I’m just going to go with that. I did it because I wanted my kids to think I was cool.”
