What Kate Winslet Was Really Like as a First-Time Director, According to the Cast of“ Goodbye June ”(Exclusive)
- - What Kate Winslet Was Really Like as a First-Time Director, According to the Cast of“ Goodbye June ”(Exclusive)
Bailey RichardsDecember 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM
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Kimberley French / Netflix
Kate Winslet directing on the set of 'Goodbye June' -
Kate Winslet made her directorial debut with Goodbye June, starring Toni Collette, Timothy Spall, Helen Mirren and more
Collette and Spall told PEOPLE what working with Winslet was like at a New York City screening of the Netflix film
Spall had previously worked with Winslet when she was a 19-year-old actress
Kate Winslet sat in the director’s chair for the very first time this year to make Goodbye June — and the film's stars have lots to say about it.
At a special screening of the Netflix movie in New York City, Toni Collette and Timothy Spall opened up to PEOPLE about what it was like to have the Oscar winning-actress — who directed, produced and starred in the film — not only beside them, but also behind the camera.
Collette, whom Winslet named as an actor she’d like to work with back in 2016, called it a “dream come true.”
“I've been saying it for years as well,” Collette, 53, said of working with Winslet. And joining forces for the star’s directorial debut — a family affair, based on a script written by Winslet’s son Joe Anders — was particularly special.
Jason Mendez/Getty
From left: Andrea Riseborough, Kate Winslet, Timothy Spall and Toni Collette at a special screening of 'Goodbye June' on Dec. 8, 2025
“I mean, it was more than I even expected, because I thought we'd just act together,” Collette continued. “But when someone chooses you to be a part of their directorial debut, that's a big deal. That's a total honor. And she's such a good director.”
The fact that the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind star was so great in this new capacity, however, was “no surprise” to the Australian. “We all knew she would be, but she really is,” Collette said of the actress-turned-director. “It was just the most beautiful set, such an incredible atmosphere, such an incredible sense of trust and freedom.”
“And she's so generous and kind and grounded and funny,” added the Hereditary star. “And honestly, none of us wanted it to end.”
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Spall echoed Collette’s sentiments about the first-time director — only he and Winslet had history prior to Goodbye June. The British actor, 68, first met Winslet while costarring with the then-19-year-old actress in a production of Hamlet, per Tudum.
Having Winslet as not only a scene partner, but director this time around “felt completely natural," he told PEOPLE.
Kimberley French/Netflix
Kate Winslet and Toni Colette in 'Goodbye June' on Netflix
“I mean, when I first worked with her and met her, she struck me as being open, funny, brilliant, self-deprecating,” Spall said, “and just very, very honest — and that's just matured.”
“And intelligent — that's the other thing,” added the Harry Potter actor. “She's incredibly intelligent, but none of it is demonstrated in a showy way. It's all completely natural. She's a natural and brilliant actress, but also a very hardworking one and a very versatile one.”
Spall also told PEOPLE that “all of the things that she's learned” from working with “some of the best directors on earth” — Winslet has worked with greats including James Cameron, Nancy Meyers and Ang Lee — also helped the star in her debut directorial effort.
“She is one of the best actors on earth,” he said, “and these two things are fused perfectly, and it makes absolute sense that she should direct a film.”
"And in a strange way, it's a bit late,” Spall added. “I mean, let's hope she starts a lot because I'll tell you what, if she asked me to work with her again, I'd do it like that. I mean, she is absolutely brilliant.”
Kimberley French/Netflix
Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet in 'Goodbye June' on Netflix
Goodbye June — whose cast also includes Helen Mirren, Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn and Fisayo Akinade — follows one family "when an unexpected turn in their mother’s health thrusts four adult siblings and their exasperating father into chaos as they navigate messy family dynamics in the face of potential loss" around Christmas, per a synopsis.
"But their quick-witted mother, June [Mirren], orchestrates her decline on her own terms — with biting humour, blunt honesty and a lot of love," the synopsis states.
Goodbye June is available to stream on Netflix.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
