Hollywood actress Kate Winslet established a great camaraderie with actor Fisayo Akinade the moment they met. After a coffee and a chat, she, there and then offered him a role in ‘Goodbye June’, reports ‘Deadline’. The film marks her directing debut, and is available on Netflix from today following a limited theatrical run.
A few days prior to their meeting, Akinade, acclaimed for his virtuosity on stage, was on the top deck of a London bus when his agent called with the news that the actress was directing a film and wanted to meet. “I said, ‘How the f*** does she know who I am?’”.
His agent then asked if he’d like to know who he could be acting opposite. As per ‘Deadline’, the names of Helen Mirren, Toni Collette, Timothy Spall, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough and Winslet herself were reeled off. “‘What the f*** is going on?,’” he recalled spurting.
The film, written by Joe Anders, the son of Winslet and Sam Mendes, is about a matriarch of the family dying at Christmastime. Winslet wanted Akinade to play Angel, the cancer ward nurse caring for Mirren’s June, the title character, while her husband, their four children and grandchildren wait by her bedside.
The venue of the meeting was the Soho Hotel. As Akinade ran to the loo, Winslet came into view. “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’.
We had coffee. She spoke about the film, spoke about herself, what she’d been up to, and then she said, ‘Well, listen, I want you to do it. There’s nobody else I’m seeing. I’m not asking anybody else’”. It was agreed and an offer was made. Winslet then suggested he accompany her on auditioning some children for the pic, and even reading with them.