Kate Winslet has revealed the very unexpected way that she came up with the idea to make a film about World War II photographer Lee Miller in a new conversation for Variety’s Actors on Actors issue.
The actress, 49, starred as Lee in the film of the same name which was released in September and she has now spoken about its origins.
She spoke with her Avatar: The Way of Water co-stars Zoe Saldaña where Kate told how she ended up acquiring the kitchen table of the real-life Lee.
Kate said: ‘I’d been to an exhibition of hers in the early 2000s in Edinburgh, and then years later, some friends of mine called me who work in an auction house, and they said, ‘This table was the kitchen table in the home of [Lee’s] family.’
‘They know how much I love to cook and appreciate family mealtimes. And Lee was a great cook, and she would cook all these wonderful meals, and they would have these wonderful times around this table.
‘I bought this table’… I sat down at the table, and I thought, ‘Why hasn’t anyone made a movie about Lee Miller?’
Kate Winslet has revealed the very unexpected way that she came up with the idea to make a film about World War II photographer Lee Miller in a new conversation for Variety’s Actors on Actors issue
The actress, 49, starred as Lee in the film of the same name which was released in September and she has now spoken about its origins
Kate takes on the lead role in Lee, where she plays WWII photojournalist Lee Miller who chronicles the war for Vogue magazine.
It was adapted from the 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose.
She also spoke with Variety about why she was so drawn to the character, saying: ‘The reason I wanted to tell Lee’s story was precisely because of what you just identified: You didn’t know who she was.
‘So many people don’t know that those photographs they may have seen connected to the conflict of World War II and the Nazi regime, so many people have never connected the dots and realized that actually it was a middle-aged woman who took those images.’
It comes after last month Kate reflected on stripping off to recreate a ‘mind-blowing’ topless bathtub scene in the war biopic.
In one scene, Kate recreated the famous 1945 photo of Lee posing in Hitler’s bath after entering the Führer’s abandoned apartment in Munich.
She revealed Vogue editor Anna Wintour offered to help her recreate the iconic moment by sending acclaimed fashion photographer Annie Liebowitz to take the shot.
She spoke with her Avatar: The Way of Water co-stars Zoe Saldaña where Kate told how she ended up acquiring the kitchen table of the real-life Lee
Kate takes on the lead role in Lee, where she plays WWII photojournalist Lee Miller who chronicles the war for Vogue magazine
She also spoke with Variety about why she was so drawn to the character, saying: ‘T he reason I wanted to tell Lee’s story was precisely because of what you just identified: You didn’t know who she was’
Kate is seen in September attending the UK premiere of Lee
Speaking on The Graham Norton Show, she said: ‘The photo was taken by Annie Leibovitz. Anna Wintour was hugely supportive of the film and said, “If you are recreating the bathtub photo I will have to send Annie.”‘
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Kate went on: ‘I was like, “Okay, if you have to!’
‘It was an extraordinary night, and the scene was mind-blowing – I couldn’t believe we were actually there as we had been developing the film for seven years.’
The real-life Lee Miller had gotten her lover at the time, Life photographer David Scherman, to take the shot as she bathed.
On the same day, Hitler killed himself along with his family as the Allies closed in on them at the end of WWII.
When asked why she wanted to produce Lee, she said: ‘I knew who she was, and I knew her work, but she had a courage and determination that made me feel her story needed lifting out of the shadows – it just had to be told.
‘She was incredible, powerful, and she redefined femininity 80 years ago. She lived life on her terms at full throttle.
‘She had a courage I had never come across in all the other roles I have ever played.’
Earlier this year, Kate revealed she ‘refused to cover up her belly rolls’ while filming Lee after a crew member told her.
The film was adapted from the 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose
The Titanic star recalled someone suggesting she sit up straighter to hide her rolls.
Kate told Harper’s Bazaar in August: ‘There’s a bit where Lee’s sitting on a bench in a bikini.
‘One of the crew came up between takes and said: “You might want to sit up straighter.”
‘So you can’t see my belly rolls? Not on your life! It was deliberate, you know?’