Hollywood actress Kate Winslet quickly developed a strong bond with actor Fisayo Akinade right from their first meeting.
After sharing a coffee and a chat, Winslet offered him a role in her directorial debut, ‘Goodbye June’, reports ‘Deadline’. The film is now available on Netflix after a limited theatrical release.
Prior to this meeting, Akinade, renowned for his stage performances, was on the upper deck of a London bus when he received a call from his agent. The news was that Winslet wanted to meet him for her film. “I said, ‘How the f*** does she know who I am?’” he recounted. His agent added that he should know who he might be acting alongside.
According to ‘Deadline’, the names mentioned included Helen Mirren, Toni Collette, Timothy Spall, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, and Winslet herself. “‘What the f*** is going on?’” he remembered exclaiming.
The film, written by Joe Anders, the son of Winslet and Sam Mendes, tells the story of a family matriarch who passes away during Christmastime. Winslet envisioned Akinade in the role of Angel, a cancer ward nurse caring for Mirren’s character, June, as her husband and their four children gather by her bedside. Their meeting took place at Soho Hotel.
Akinade described running to the restroom when Winslet appeared before him. “I thought, ‘Jesus. This is a woman I have watched since I was about 12 years old, and she’s just here in the flesh, so warm and lovely and funny and honest’.” Over coffee, she shared insights about the film, her personal life, and then stated, “Well, listen, I want you to do it. There’s nobody else I’m seeing. I’m not asking anybody else.”
An agreement was reached, and an offer followed. Winslet then invited Akinade to join her for auditioning child actors and even reading alongside them.