Key Points

The “Titanic” star told Empire magazine: "I just decided…. I'm gonna do this.' "I had thought to myself, 'How do I answer that question?' I think I've often said, 'I've been raising a family. I've got other things going on.' But actually, I realised that the reason I hadn't directed before now was because I was probably scared."

The actress, who also features in the cast of Goodbye June, said the additional scrutiny on female stars who make the move behind the camera as another factor behind her reluctance, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"And I'm acutely aware of how much harder it is for actresses to turn into directors than it is for our male counterparts. I do believe there is a good deal more scrutiny placed on: 'Can they or can't they do it? What are they going to come up with?'," said the 50-year-old actress.

Talking about Goodbye June, the film follows a group of siblings who come together to spend time with their terminally ill mother June played by Dame Helen Mirren in her final weeks and Kate explained that she didn't want the titular character to be "cosy".

The actress said: "It was very important not to set her up as the perfect, cosy parent. When you're dealing with loss, sometimes vaguely uncomfortable, humorous things can happen. So it was important to be as real about that side of what's happening to June as possible."

Winslet said directing the film was demanding, particularly as Mirren was available for just 16 days during production.

She said: "I had no option but to just throw myself at it with as much energy as I could muster and just keep going. It was proper, fast-paced British filmmaking in that sense."

Winslet says that the experience on Goodbye June has left her open to the prospect of directing again.

She said: "I'm not saying, 'Oh, it all came naturally to me', because I don't want anything to ever come naturally to me. That's not who I am. (But) I'm relishing every single day."

- IANS