The 1999 rejection Kate Winslet waited 28 years to atone for: “She passed on the project”Kate Winslet emerged under the spotlight after a few small British TV roles led her to a leading part alongside fellow newcomer Melanie Lynskey in 1994’s Heavenly Creatures. In no time at all, she’d gone from working on a small scale to filming in New Zealand for an Oscar-nominated film. Of course, her career would ramp up another notch with Titanic, a cinematic sensation that saw Winslet appear on countless billboards the world over. Winslet reportedly wasn’t interested because of the lengthy shooting schedule in New Zealand, which would prevent her from working on anything else. So, Winslet passed on one of the biggest franchises of all time, instead taking on everything from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to Flushed Away.