Winslet Stows Accent For New Film

Three-time Oscar nominee Kate Winslet has built an impressive career by mixing Hollywood blockbusters with small independent films.

Winslet dropped by The Early Show to discuss her latest film, the thriller "The Life of David Gale" with Kevin Spacey as her co-star. In the movie, Winslet plays an ambitious magazine reporter trying to figure out whether a man should be executed for a murder he may not have committed.

Winslet says "The Life of David Gale" was one of the first scripts she read after giving birth to her daughter, and she really connected with it.

"It was such a clever story and such an exciting thriller and an amazing female role," says Winslet.

Her character, Elizabeth "Bitsey" Bloom, investigates the case of a man (Kevin Spacey) who finds himself on death row.

Winslet says she was not worried that the controversy of the death penalty would overshadow the story of the film.

"The writing of the script was so good that, in fact, those political undertones really were undertones, and very much a backdrop for the story," says Winslet. "All they do is they kind of up the intelligence level of the movie and make it even more of a thriller."

To win the role of Bloom, Winslet says she called director Alan Parker and had to allay his fears that she, a British actress, would not be able to play the American character. She said she worked with her dialect coach to speak with a convincing American accent for the film.

"It was hard," she confesses. "I did an American accent in 'Titanic' but in a way that kind of got lost in the mix of how enormous that film was because there were so many things in that movie that were bigger than just me."

Winslet says she enjoyed working with Kevin Spacey on the film.

"He is a fantastic actor and so highly respected and very professional," she says. "And the only sadness is that we didn't, in fact, have that much time together."

Winslet has performed in front of the camera and audiences for years. And in those years, her body has matured, especially after pregnancy. When London's GQ magazine decided to crop her legs to look half their size, she spoke up.

"I wasn't annoyed by it particularly, because I expect the magazines to do that," says Winslet. "The only thing that bothered me is that it does look real. It does look as if I suddenly had lost 30 pounds … I don't look like that. And more importantly, I don't have any desire to look like that. And plus, I'm not six foot tall. I'm 5 feet 6 inches."

The actress' next movie release will be "Neverland" with Johnny Depp. She is now in New York, filming a movie with Jim Carrey written by Charlie Kauffman, who wrote "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind."

Some Facts About Kate Winslet

• Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born in Reading, England, Oct. 5, 1975
• In 1987, Winslet appeared in British television commercials for Sugar Puffs cereal
• In 1988, Winslet made her British television debut in "Shrinks"
• In 1991, Winslet left school to pursue career; Appeared in British stage productions of "Adrian Mole," "Peter Pan" (as Wendy) and "A Game of Soldiers"; Played recurring role in British sitcom "Get Back"
• In 1994, Winslet made her feature film debut as Juliet Hulme in "Heavenly Creatures," directed by Peter Jackson
• In 1995, Winslet co-starred as Marianne Dashwood in "Sense and Sensibility"; earned first Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress
• In 1995, Winslet played female lead in "Jude" opposite Christopher Eccleston
• In 1996, She was cast as Ophelia opposite Kenneth Branagh in Branagh's feature version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet"
• In 1997, Winslet co-starred in James Cameron's blockbuster "Titanic"; nominated for a Best Actress Oscar
• In 1999, Winslet starred in "Hideous Kinky" playing a hippie mother who takes her two daughters with her on a spiritual journey to Marrakech; Appeared opposite Harvey Keitel in "Holy Smoke," directed by Jane Campion
• In 2000, Winslet starred with Geoffrey Rush and Joaquin Phoenix in "Quills," playing a laundress who helps the incarcerated Marquis de Sade smuggle out his writings
• In 2001, Winslet co-starred in the WWII-era spy drama "Enigma"; screened at Sundance Film Festival;
• In 2001, cast as the younger incarnation of the title character in "Iris," a film about novelist Iris Murdoch's struggle with Alzheimer's disease; She earned her third Oscar nomination, this time as Best Supporting Actress, for that role; Winslet had a top-10 single in Great Britain with the song "What If," taken from film's soundtrack