After revealing that she was plagued by bullies as a young girl, Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has revealed that she has lent her voice to a powerful anti-bullying movement.
Kate has teamed up with Australian writer and short-film maker Gavin Scott Davis to narrate his short animated film about being bullied, Daisy Chain.
The Oscar-winner has shirked the million-dollar checks and blockbuster movies to make the film with little-known director-writer Gavin, which centres around a little girl, Daisy, who is constantly bullied.
But before Kate actually signed her name to the project, director Gavin Scott Davis revealed that he didn’t think she’d actually accept such a small production.
“I called her agent and begged her to pass the material on to Kate,” Gavin said, “I didn’t think she would actually do it, an Australian animated children’s film released online for free isn’t exactly lucrative for Hollywood royalty.”
“But she agreed to do it, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a beautiful, important story that should be told,” the director said.
But it might not have been just Kate’s previous experiences alone that tipped the scales for her. Director Gavin Scott Davis also revealed that a little personal history may have helped the process along, too.
“I was working as an actor in the UK, and on the set for a massive period drama,” Gavin said, “A young actor started talking to me, and she asked if I wanted to be an actor.”
“I explained my dream to be a writer-director, and her parting words to me as she was pulled into hair and make-up were ‘never give up’,” Gavin revealed.
“That actor was Kate Winslet, and that film was Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet.”
Daisy Chain revolves around a little girl, Buttercup Bree, and her struggles with bullying.
But the film might not have been too far below the actress as he first thought, with Kate recently admitting to professional adventurer and TV host Bear Grylls on his show, Running Wild, that she was bullied relentlessly in high school.
“I was chubby, always had big feet, the wrong shoes, bad hair. There was one girl who was horrible to me,” the actress revealed whilst in the wild with the adventurer.
But after all her tough years, the Oscar-winner also revealed how she empowers her daughter, Mia, and how got back at her bully!
“She was working on a beauty counter at a department store, and I went over and said, ‘Hello, I just want to thank you for something’,” Kate said, “I said, ‘I want to thank you for being such a b#tch, because you made me a lot stronger’. And I just walked away. It was a great moment!”
Since her confession, Kate has spoken out about how important it is to have support for bullied children.
“I was lucky that my school had this person there for me. My hope, is that anyone being bullied can also find the support, in any way that helps them too,” Kate told The Mail Online.
Daisy Chain, directed by Gavin Scott Davis and narrated by Kate Winslet, is available on iTunes and on the Daisy Chain website. Proceeds from the sale of the film and its merchandise go to various Australian anti-bullying foundations.
Hear Kate’s incredible story of how she got back at her bully below!
