Kate Winslet regrets working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski

Kate Winslet has reflected on her career in a new interview. Photo / Getty Images

Kate Winslet has expressed her regrets over working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski and wants to set a better example for young actors.

"It's like, what the f*** was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski?" Winslet told Vanity Fair in a new interview.

"It's unbelievable to me now how those men were held in such high regard, so widely in the film industry and for as long as they were. It's f****** disgraceful. And I have to take responsibility for the fact that I worked with them both. I can't turn back the clock. I'm grappling with those regrets but what do we have if we aren't able to just be f****** truthful about all of it?"

Winslet has starred in Wonder Wheel, directed by Allen, and worked with Polanski on Carnage. Allen's daughter Dylan Farrow accused the director of sexually abusing her when she was a child. Polanski was arrested in 1977 for raping a 13-year-old girl, according to IndieWire. Despite appearing distancing herself from the controversy in a 2017 New York Times interview, saying "you put it to one side and just work with the person", Winslet now wants to do better. In 2018 she also alluded to her regrets working with the directors in a London Critics' Circle Film Awards' acceptance speech.

"I'd like to do my best when it comes to setting a decent example to younger women," she told Vanity Fair when asked about the #MeToo movement.

She said early on her career she experienced an inappropriate comment onset from a crew member when she starred alongside New Zealand actress Melanie Lynskey in Heavenly Creatures.

Winslet explained to Vanity Fair: "I remember his name, and he really was a nice guy, but when you're younger, you do this nonsense thing of just thinking, 'That's what men say.' And they do it sometimes like they're breathing ... I don't know a single girl, actually, who hasn't experienced some level of harassment on that level. Even if they're just words, they're so powerful. It's like bullying."

The Titanic actress is currently promoting her new movie Ammonite, where she stars alongside Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird). Set in 1840s England, she plays real-life palaeontologist Mary Anning, and Ronan plays a married geologist. The pair work together and form a close bond, leading to a romantic - but forbidden- relationship.

Where to get help

• If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

• If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on: 0800 044 334 or text 4334.

• Alternatively contact your local police station.

• If you have been abused, remember it's not your fault.