Although new holiday movies are released every year, there are some festive films that fans will never tire of watching. The Holiday, starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, and Jude Law, is one such film that tends to appear again and again in Christmas movie marathons around the world. And even though newer Christmas films have been named The Holiday knock offs, like the upcoming Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon flick Your Place or Mine, there can only ever be one The Holiday.
Starring as Iris in the film is one of Kate Winslet’s most memorable acting roles and fans of the film agree that she’s amazing as a comedic actress. However, being part of the film was unfamiliar territory for the Titanic actress and she seriously thought she’d be fired from set. Read on to find out why Kate Winslet believed that she wouldn’t last as Iris in The Holiday.
The Role Of Iris
In The Holiday, Kate Winslet plays the role of Iris, a single women living in England who is heartbroken over her former office flame, Jasper, who is just got engaged to another co-worker. To get over him, she exchanges homes for two weeks with Amanda, played by Cameron Diaz in one of her most memorable movie roles, who lives in Los Angeles. The two swap everything for the two weeks over Christmas and end up learning a lot. Plus, they both find new love while staying abroad in each other’s homes!
Every year, millions of viewers tune in to this holiday movie because Iris’s story reminds them to never give up hope of finding love, and to stop waiting around for people who don’t treat you properly!
A Role Written For Her
One of the things that most people don’t know about The Holiday is that the film’s creator Nancy Meyers actually wrote the role of Iris with Kate Winslet in mind. She explained in an interview that when you think of “a 30-year-old-woman in England”, your mind immediately goes to Kate Winslet. Similarly, she knew from the beginning that she wanted to cast Cameron Diaz in the role of Amanda because Diaz was “absolutely the right choice for a California girl.”
So if the role of Iris was made for Winslet, why did she ever have any doubts that she was going to be fired?
Why She Thought She’d Be Fired
Kate Winslet opened up about her fears regarding starring in a romantic comedy, which was “a whole new genre” to her at the time she accepted the role of Iris (via About.com): “I’ve never done a romantic comedy or something that is labelled as that before. I was so excited to do something new and also nervous you know? The worry of, ‘Can I be funny?’”
Considering the success of The Holiday, which comes down to both Iris and Amanda’s storylines, it’s safe to say that Winslet was funny. But before she started filming, she was so worried about not being funny that she believed she would be fired. “And Jude [Law] and I would speak on the telephone a lot before we started shooting. ‘Oh my god, they’re going to fire us! They’re going to recast. What if we don’t make them laugh?’”
Her Performance Was Harder Than She’d Thought
After starring in movies like Titanic, that required stunts in difficult conditions, one might think that doing a film like The Holiday would be easy for Kate Winslet. But she revealed that working on a romantic comedy, even where she could use her own accent, came with its own “specific set of challenges.”
“I mean making films is such a joy but it’s always tough,” she said (via About.com), adding that it “definitely took me a while to get over my own sort of fear around playing that part.”
Jack Black Thought She Was Perfect
Along with Nancy Meyers, one person who did see Winslet’s potential was Jack Black, who played her on-screen love interest Miles. According to Mamma Mia, another behind-the-scenes titbit is that Black wasn’t originally sold on starring in the film, thanks to its rom com genre. He signed on only when he found out he’d be starring opposite Kate Winslet.
In an interview with Coming Soon, he revealed, “Kate was incredible as I anticipated. It was a huge reason why I wanted to do the movie. I was such a big fan of hers, I just love her work and her acting.”
Jude Law Wasn’t The Director’s First Choice
While Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz were Meyers’ first choices, she wasn’t sure that she wanted Jude Law for the role of Amanda’s love interest Graham. She had doubts about casting him in a rom com considering his dark and dramatic when it came to acting.
However, Jude Law also ended up being perfect for the role of Graham and had some serious chemistry with Cameron Diaz. Their love story is one of the other reasons why fans tune into this movie every year and it’s become a Christmas must!