Kate Winslet went to great lengths to ensure she could complete her new film Lee, including paying the crew’s salaries herself.
The 47-year-old actress plays World War II model and photographer Lee Miller in the biopic, an adaptation of Antony Penrose’s 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller.
Winslet and producer Kate Solomon opened up about the film Fashion (the outlet the real Miller shot for during the war), where it was revealed that Winslet – who appeared on the red carpet for Vogue World last week – not only paid the crew’s salaries, but even battled through injuries.
The first day on set, Winslet was rehearsing a scene in which Lee was running through the streets of the French city of Saint-Malo as it was being bombed in 1944, when she slipped and injured her back.
‘I had three huge hematomas on my spine, huge. I could barely get up,” Winslet revealed, as the actress somehow still stuck to the grueling schedule while working through the pain.
Above and beyond: Kate Winslet went out of her way to ensure she could finish her new film Lee, including paying the crew’s salaries herself
Model-turned-photographer: The 47-year-old actress plays model-turned-WWII photographer Lee Miller in the biopic, adapted from the 1985 biography The Lives of Lee Miller by Antony Penrose
As for the actress paying the crew’s salaries, it was revealed that the film’s financing was “precarious,” and at one point during pre-production she “personally paid two weeks’ wages to keep things going.”
Producer Kate Solomon described Winslet as “tireless,” adding, “Kate kept the movie in her.”
“If you talked to her about any aspect, she knew what her opinion was. And once you have that, you can put anyone after that person,” Solomon added.
“It seems effortless, but when you live with her you can say, My God, it’s a lot of work to get to that point.”
Antony Penrose, Lee Miller’s real-life son and biographer, revealed that he thought Winslet would have made a great Lee Miller when he saw Titanic.
‘When I saw Kate in Titanic all those years ago, I loved that she wasn’t afraid of getting wet, of getting dirty, of falling in the water, of getting rough. I thought she would make a great Lee Miller,” Penrose said.
Winslet would be involved at every stage of production, even bringing in female writers like Liz Hannah (The Post) and Marion Hume, a former editor-in-chief of Vogue Australia and an expert on Miller.
She even worked closely on casting, bringing in comedian Andy Samberg to play real-life photographer David Scherman, Miller’s close friend, in Samberg’s first dramatic role.
Precarious: As for the actress paying the crew’s salaries, it was revealed that the film’s financing was “precarious,” and at one point during pre-production she “personally paid two weeks’ wages to keep things going ‘
Kate’s film: Producer Kate Solomon described Winslet as ‘tireless’ and added: ‘Kate kept the film in her’
A great Lee: Antony Penrose, Lee Miller’s real-life son and biographer, revealed he thought Winslet would have made a great Lee Miller when he saw Titanic
“I couldn’t say no to acting opposite Kate Winslet,” Samberg admitted, adding, “She’s incredible. I knew this [movie] would be of a certain quality by her anyway.
She even helped coordinate Samberg’s flights so he could minimize time away from his children in Los Angeles.
“She said, ‘We’ll take care of it for you, don’t worry.’ She was just thorough – somehow able to influence the creative flow of things in a positive way,” Samberg added.
Lee debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, though it’s unclear when the film will hit theaters.
