Kate Winslet's Role In 'Contagion' Prepared Her For COVID-19

Academy Award-winning actress Kate Winslet has revealed that her role in the movie “Contagion” helped her in preparing for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

In an interview given to the Hollywood Reporter, the 44-year-old actress revealed that people had funny reactions when they saw her wearing a mask weeks before the coronavirus was declared a “pandemic” by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The star noted that she “wiped everything” that she bought from the grocery store with isopropyl alcohol since that time on. Winslet also shared that she always wore gloves whenever she went outside or to the grocery store to buy things.

“People thought I was crazy because I had been walking around wearing a mask for weeks, going into the grocery store and wiping everything down with isopropyl alcohol and wearing gloves,” Winslet told The Hollywood Reporter.

However, the precautions that she took turned out to be really effective, and as soon as the WHO announced COVID-19 a pandemic, everyone started looking for a mask.

“Then all of a sudden March 13 came around, and people were like, '[explicit], where do I get one of those masks?’” Winslet told the publication.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, “Contagion” focuses on the deaths of Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) and her son that led to the discovery of a life-threatening virus. The movie shows that the virus came from a banana that was eaten by a bat and then got transferred to a pig that was later picked up by a restaurant to make a dish.

Winslet portrayed the role of Dr. Erin Mears, who took the responsibility to see the patients and check what kind of symptoms they have. However, she later contracts the disease and dies because of the deadly virus.

The “Revolutionary Road” actress also feels that the “unknown element” of the virus makes it one of the most horrifying things in the world right now.

“ I think it’s the unknown element of this virus — we just don’t know how it’s going to affect any given individual — I think that was what’s so terrifying ,” Winslet said.

As far as positive cases are concerned, the U.S. is still at the top of the list with more than 6 million cases and 184,796 deaths. California is the worst-affected state in the nation with 692,780 cases while Texas comes second with 626,131.

On the professional front, Winslet will be next seen in Francis Lee’s movie “Ammonite.” The movie also features Saoirse Ronan in a pivotal role.

The movie is scheduled to hit theaters on Nov. 13, 2020.