Currently, Kate Winslet is doing some of the best work in her career in HBO's thrilling whodunit Mare of Easttown. Winslet, one of Hollywood's most celebrated and beloved actors, has a filmography that most stars would envy. She excels at period pieces, dramatic vehicles, light-hearted Christmas comedies, and even big-budget blockbusters, and she makes it seem effortless.
Winslet has proven her versatility time and again. Still, to many people, she will always be Rose DeWitt Bukater, the tragic yet resourceful heroine in James Cameron's blockbuster, Titanic. And while Titanic is one of the most important films of all time, Winslet's filmography is packed with jewels that could all be considered her greatest performance.
10 Rose Is Best: Breakout Role
Winslet wasn't a newcomer in 1997. In fact, she was already an Oscar nominee when she played Rose in Titanic, thanks to her charming turn as Marianne Dashwood in Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility. However, Titanic propelled her to international stardom and made a bonafide star out of her.
Winslet's romantic and magnetic performance enchanted audiences around the world. It also earned her a second Oscar nomination in the Lead Actress category and made her the most on-demand English actress in the business.
9 Juliet Hulme Is Better: Introducing Kate Winslet
While Sense and Sensibility was Winslet's first Oscar nomination, her feature film debut was actually in 1994's Heavenly Creatures. Directed by Peter Jackson and co-starring Melanie Linskey, it tells the story of two teenage friends who exact an act of bloody revenge after their parents separate them.
Based on a notorious real-life murder in New Zealand, Heavenly Creatures finds Winslet playing one of her darkest characters and showed a maturity beyond her years. It's a spectacular film debut, one that assured Winslet was a star unlike any other.
8 Rose Is Best: Certified Leading Lady
Titanic's success means several things for Winslet's career. Firstly, it certified her reputation as a critical favorite and Academy darling. At twenty-two, she already had two Oscar nominations and was on her way to win one sooner rather than later.
Secondly, it established her as a certified leading lady, capable of carrying a film on her back. And not just any film, but a billion-dollar blockbuster. Titanic was truly a before and after for Winslet's career, transforming her from a familiar yet underrated actress to an international and acclaimed superstar.
7 Mildred Pierce Is Better: Reinventing A Classic Character
It takes a very brave actress to step into a role already made iconic by another actress. Yet, Winslet did just that when she starred in the 2011 HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. Based on the 1941 novel of the same name, it follows the life and struggles of the titular character as she tries to make a living and earn her daughter's love and respect.
Screen icon Joan Crawford famously played Mildred Pierce in the beloved 1945 film-noir of the same name. Still, Winslet put her own spin on the character, reinventing it for modern-day audiences. The result was a nuanced and heartbreaking turn that earned her the Primetime Emmy Award for 'Leading Actress in a Miniseries.'
6 Rose Is Best: A Timeless Romance
One of the most divisive parts of Titanic is its excessive use of melodrama. The film indeed uses a plethora of stereotypes and narrative tropes to tell its story. What prevents it from going into overkill is the earnest commitment of its two leading stars.
Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio share genuine, electric chemistry that makes their dramatic romance believable. They elevate the material and deliver a heartbreaking and compelling romance that will surely stand the test of time as one of the greatest in modern cinema.
5 April Wheeler Is Better: Dramatic Tour De-Force
Eleven years would pass before Winslet and Dicaprio shared the screen again, but it was worth the wait. The actors once again shared enviable and explosive chemistry, but they put it to a different use in Sam Mendes' visceral tale of broken dreams.
Revolutionary Road tells the story of the crumbling marriage between Frank and April Wheeler. Uncomfortable with their lives yet still trying to save their family, April and Frank are troubled and complex characters. Winslet and DiCaprio go all in, delivering some of their most emotionally aggressive work. Revolutionary Road isn't a pleasant viewing experience, but it's worth it to see both actors chewing the scenery around them.
4 Rose Is Best: A Smashing Success
Billion-dollar movies are common these days. Back in 1997, though, they were as rare a sight as the pot at the end of the rainbow. It's impossible to undermine Titanic's gargantuan success. The film was a massive worldwide hit, a cinematic phenomenon unlike any other in modern film history.
Winslet and DiCaprio were at the center of it all. It must have been hard to deal with all the attention that came with being the stars of the greatest cinematic achievement of the last fifty years or so, yet both actors did it with class to spare.
3 Clementine Kruczynski Is Better: A Multicolored Wonder
After Titanic, Winslet chose to focus on smaller, character-driven films. She often played roles in period pieces. However, all that changed in 2004, when Michel Gondry cast her against type in his 2004 romantic sci-fi Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Clementine is, arguably, Winslet's most accomplished screen performance. She's riveting and magnetic, a non-stopping tornado of color and emotion. The film itself is brilliant and daring, an unconventional portrayal of love and relationships. And Winslet delivers a fiercely committed and profoundly humane performance, playing a flawed and unapologetic character with irresistible intensity.
2 Rose Is Best: Eternal Icon
Some actors become synonyms with the roles they play. Winslet was able to avoid typecasting thanks to her versatility, but she remains closely associated with the character of Rose.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, Titanic elevated her into the major leagues and allowed her to be more experimental with her career. Rose is also one of the most recognizable characters in film history, next to Scarlett O'Hara, Sally Albright, and Holly Golightly. In the end, Rose is an asset for Winslet, not a liability.
1 Mare Sheehan Is Better: Winslet's Defining Performance
It's a true testament to Winslet's talent that she's delivering a defining performance almost thirty years into her career. Yet, it's utterly undeniable that she's providing a performance of a lifetime in Mare of Easttown.
Winslet has always excelled in playing humane, flawed, sympathetic characters, but her performance in Mare truly stands out. In episode five alone, Winslet easily balances comedy and drama before becoming an action hero and commanding every minute of one of the tensest sequences in modern television. Winslet has always been one of Hollywood's most accomplished performers, but Mare of Easttown confirms her spot as a true acting legend.
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