Kate Winslet Said She Had to Be "Brave" to Film Topless After Injuring Her Back

Kate Winslet opened up about a pivotal scene in her new film, Lee, which had her filming topless after she'd injured herself on the first day of filming. In a new interview with Vogue, Winslet said that even though a few people on set urged her to position herself in specific ways so that her body would look more conventionally slim and lithe, she insisted on not wasting "energy" on that mindset and accept that her body looked how it did and she didn't intend on changing that.

"I know better than to waste precious energy on criticizing my physical self," the actress said. "I think any woman is better off just saying: I believe in myself. It doesn't matter what other people think; this is who I am — let's get on with it."

Winslet explained that she'd injured herself on the first day of filming Lee, which sees her playing Lee Miller, a model turned war photographer. The scene in question involved her picnicking topless with friends.

"I had three massive hematomas on my spine, huge," she said in the interview. "I could barely stand up." 

She went on to say that she wasn't going to hide her body and filmed the scene despite certain members of the crew telling her to sit up straight or twist herself.

"I had to be really fucking brave about letting my body be its softest version of itself and not hiding from that," she said. "And believe me, people amongst our own team would say, 'You might just want to sit up a bit.' And I'd go, 'Why? [Because of] the bit of flesh you can see? No, that's the way it's going to be!'"

Winslet also discussed how she dealt with criticism in her twenties.

Saying that it was "the most awful scrutiny and judgment, and, actually, I would go so far as to say bullying, from mainstream media." 

"I was consistently told I was the wrong shape," Winslet said. "I was consistently told I would have to settle for less."

In previous interviews, Winslet opened up about actually having reporters ask her about her body and the distinction between being "outspoken" and having to defend herself against people commenting on her size.

"I would be called to comment on my physical self," Winslet said in 2021. "Well, then I got this label of being ballsy and outspoken. No, I was just defending myself."