Following a heated scene with her co-star, Kate Winslet reportedly came away with “numerous bruises”.
Set against suburban Boston, she depicts in the 2006 film an unhappy housewife who starts an affair with her married neighbor, Patrick Wilson.
Although the movie did not do well at the box office, it received praise from critics and Winslet was nominated for numerous Oscars including Best Actress. Many viewers will probably remember a particularly audacious sequence between the two performers that left Winslet with rather a few bruises.
The infamous moment was shot decades before intimacy coordinators started to proliferate in the business—experienced professionals making sure actors could execute intimate situations both safely and comfortably. Winslet and Wilson looked naked in the encounter, however they subtly wore modest coverings invisible on camera.
Wilson related an intriguing story about the fallout from shooting the controversial sequence on The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast, It Happened in Hollywood. He described being at the playground when he would attract the attention of apparently familiar mothers. “I would be hanging around there, acting normally. A couple times women would glance at me and wonder, “Why do I know him?” Then you could see the insight strike them, causing a fluttered reaction such as, “Oh – that’s who he is!”
“And there came a time when I could just ask, ‘Are you thinking about that laundry room scene right now?”
In this memorable scene, Winslet and Wilson’s characters at last yield to their chemistry, resulting in a violent confrontation.
Wilson remembered, “Kate was really cool and polite, totally up for it – just like, let’s dive in.” “There never was one embarrassing moment. Not one. I loved it very honestly.
Wilson said, “I can only image there were quite a few bruises,” while talking about the reports regarding Winslet injuring her behind during filming. Let’s just say, since the post-#MeToo era, especially with intimacy coordinators participating, I haven’t seen a scene like that.
Watch the trailer for Little Children here…
“I can’t help but feel a bit like a relic when it comes in participating in those kinds of love scenes,” he said. Thinking back on the time of Little Children’s premiere, Winslet said, “We practiced the scene fully dressed, with no one else present; it was just us and Todd, letting us to gain a hold on the general design of the sequence so we could predict what to expect. We watched out for each other and found ourselves giggling really a lot. Though at first strange, you ultimately forget that you are naked with someone you do not know really well.
“Sometimes I feel like a relic when it comes on doing those kinds of intimate scenes,” he said. Thinking back on the release of Little Children, Winslet said, “We practiced the scene while fully clothed, with only us and Todd in the room, allowing us to sculpt the moment and prepare for what lied ahead. We laughed a lot and took great care to encourage one another. Though it sounds weird, you really forget at some time that you are exposed with someone you hardly know.