Kate Winslet’s press tour for Avatar: The Way of Water included several memorable moments, but few live up to Winslet’s decision to motivate a first-time interviewer during an international press tour. A video of Winslet sharing words of encouragement with a shy young reporter went viral on social media, with the clip racking up more than 1 million views on Twitter in less than 24 hours.
Winslet was being interviewed for German television channel ZDF (via The Independent) when the channel’s young reporter, Martha, told the Oscar winner, “Um, it’s my first time.” Winslet interrupted the interview and leaned in closer Reporter.
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“Is this your first time?” asked Winslet. “Okay, you know what? If we do this interview, it will be the most amazing interview ever. And do you know why? Because we decided that it will be. So now we’ve decided, you and me, this is going to be a really amazing interview.”
Winslet continued: “You can ask me anything you want and don’t be afraid. Everything will be great. OK? You got this. OK, let’s do it!”
Winslet plays Ronal, a free diver of the Metkayina water clan and the village chief’s wife, in Avatar: The Way of Water. Ronal is also pregnant, a trait director James Cameron saw as essential to his on-screen portrayal.
“Everybody’s always talking about female empowerment,” Cameron recently told Variety. “But what is such a big part of a woman’s life that we as men don’t experience? And I thought, ‘Well, if you really want to go all the way down the rabbit hole of female empowerment, let’s have a warrior, six months pregnant, in battle.'”
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“That doesn’t happen in our society – probably not for hundreds of years. But I guarantee you, before, women had to fight to survive and protect their children, and it didn’t matter if they were pregnant,” Cameron continued. “And pregnant women are more capable of being a lot more athletic than we as a culture acknowledge. I thought, ‘Let’s break the real boundaries.’ For me it was the last bastion that you don’t see. Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel — all these other amazing women show up, but they’re not mothers and they’re not pregnant while fighting evil.”
Avatar: The Way of Water is in theaters nationwide now.
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