During a recent Team Deakins podcast episode, acclaimed actress Kate Winslet reflected on her debut performance in Peter Jackson’s 1994 drama-thriller, Heavenly Creatures. The film explores the dangerously obsessive friendship between two teenage girls, portrayed by Winslet and Melanie Lynskey, and remains a landmark in cinematic history.

Winslet revealed that some of her “first intimate experiences” as a teenager were with girls, which deeply informed her portrayal of Juliet. She explained, “I’d kissed a few girls, and I’d kissed a few boys, but I wasn’t particularly evolved in either direction.” This early curiosity allowed her to connect with the intense emotional bond at the core of the film, even while acknowledging the characters’ relationships became “horrendously damaging to both of them” due to insecurities and vulnerabilities.

Though she admitted she “couldn’t truly understand” the more destructive elements, Winslet resonated with the depiction of intense connections formed during vulnerable youth. Heavenly Creatures marked her breakout role, as she highlighted she had “never held a film script” prior to auditioning, underscoring the boldness of her early career choices.

The film was also a key milestone for director Peter Jackson, representing his first serious venture into drama after a career in horror and dark comedy with works such as Bad Taste, Dead Alive, and Meet the Feebles. Following her acclaimed performance, Winslet continued her rise with roles in Sense and Sensibility, Jude, and Hamlet, before achieving worldwide fame in Titanic (1997).