Could an Oscar, which has eluded Kate Winslet ever since her breakthrough role in Titanic, finally be within her grasp?
Some pundits believe she has a strong chance of taking the best actress honours this year, with performances in two movies likely to appeal to Academy voters.
In Revolutionary Road, she re-teams with Leonardo DiCaprio in the tale of an unhappy couple in the 1950s who move to France to try to save their marriage.
Her character April is “steely, strong and brittle, capable of great highs and lows as well as massive uncertainty,” according to Variety. Directed by her Oscar-winning husband Sam Mendes, it opens here in January.
As Hannah Schmitz in The Reader, she really gets to show her mettle, aging from a sexy thirtysomething who seduces a teenager (pictured) to an elderly woman on trial for war crimes because of her work as a prison guard at Auschwitz.
Director Stephen Daldry (The Hours) originally wanted to cast Nicole Kidman but offered the role to Kate after Nic became pregnant during the filming of Australia. The Reader, which co-stars Ralph Fiennes, debuts here in February.
Kate has been nominated for an Oscar five times: best actress for Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Little Children; and supporting actress for Iris and Sense and Sensibility.
The 2008 best actress derby is rated by many pundits as the most competitive in years. Apart from Kate, the contenders could include Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Kristin Scott Thomas (I’ve Loved You So Long), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married), Angelina Jolie (Changeling) and Meryl Streep (Doubt).
We do know one thing: Academy rules prevent any actor from being nominated twice in the same category in the same year. So Kate won’t know until the noms are announced whether voters have decided she’s better in The Reader or Revolutionary Road…or neither.
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Kate Winslet presses her claims for Oscar gold