Kate Winslet Opens Up About Challenges She Faced as a Female Director

Kate Winslet is speaking honestly about the obstacles she encountered while stepping behind the camera for the first time.

The Oscar-winning actress recently made her feature-film directorial debut with Goodbye June, a holiday drama written by her 21-year-old son, Joe Anders. While promoting the film, Winslet revealed that working as a female director came with unique challenges, especially when it came to budget and expectations.

Speaking on the Dec. 19 episode of the Kermode & Mayo’s Take podcast, Winslet said women directors are often spoken to differently than men. She explained that because of the film’s tight budget, she sometimes had to ask people to work for less than their usual rates.

“There’s a different set of language that is used talking to actresses who become directors as opposed to male actors who become directors,” Winslet said. She added that some department heads and crew members agreed to take a pay cut because they wanted to support the project and be part of the experience.

The Titanic star also pointed out what she sees as an unfair double standard in the industry. According to Winslet, young male actors who move into directing roles are often trusted immediately, while women are not given the same assumption of competence.

“Somehow there's this societal assumption that they will automatically know what they're doing, whereas the same assumption is not made of women,” she said, calling the situation “not right” and “not fair.” She added that this mindset makes it harder for women to get films made and secure proper budgets.

Winslet also recalled showing an early cut of the Netflix film to a female colleague, who suggested she might benefit from having more confidence in her choices. Winslet said she believes that comment would not have been made if she were a man, stressing that both men and women need to unlearn ingrained biases.

Reflecting on her decision to direct Goodbye June, Winslet said she felt it was important to lead by example. After advocating for women in film for most of her career, she felt it was time to actively try to change the culture.

“Even if I never do it again, I feel so proud that I have done it now,” Winslet said, adding that directing the film during a difficult time for the industry made the experience even more meaningful.