Kate Winslet "inspired" Xavier Dolan to become an actor.
Kate Winslet
The 27-year-old actor and director has admitted he has always been a fan of the 41-year-old actress, but the pivotal moment in his life came after he watched the golden haired beauty play the role of Rose DeWitt Bukateer in 'Titanic', which led him to follow the same career path.
Speaking to Vulture about who has been the biggest influence in is life, he said: "I've been a fan from the first hour. Kate Winslet has inspired me to become an actor, a director, a costume designer ... she's helped me to grow as an artist and as a human being in a way that she will never know. When I saw her in 'Titanic', I was eight years old. I saw the film and I was like, 'Oooh, look at that.' Big ideas, ambition, greater than life. It showed me that there were no limits to the things you could dream. I couldn't believe the production design."
And the 'Elephant Song' star has credited Winslet as the "spokesperson of my teenage-hood" years, which has helped him to "define" who he is.
The dark-haired hunk continued: "But from the age of eight to 16, Kate Winslet was the spokesperson of my teenage-hood without ever knowing it. She's been the face of my wildest artistic dreams. The way she walked, the way she talked ... she's defined the person that I am in so many aspects. And I know that it's extremely weird to be talking about this. Some artists do that to you. For me, it was her."
And the French Canadian star has revealed he even reached out to the award-winning star - who was crowned the Best Actress for her performance in 'The Reader' at the 2008 BAFTA Awards - and wrote to tell her how much he admired her.
The 'Mommy' filmmaker explained: "It was an almost systematic pastime I had as a kid to reach out to stars and tell them how much I loved them. I wrote to Danny DeVito, Kate Winslet, Susan Sarandon, Leo [DiCaprio], the cast from 'Buffy', the cast from 'Roswell', the casts from 'Charmed' and 'Smallville'."
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