Kate Winslet recently revealed an unexpected fear during an interview on The Late Show. When host Stephen Colbert asked her about the scariest animal, the Titanic star confessed, "I'm honestly not brilliant with cows."
Although it might sound unusual, Winslet explained her unease with a story that left a lasting impression. "Someone once told me, 'You’ve got to learn how to read a field of cows,’" she said. “They warned me, ‘If their tails are swishing and flies are buzzing, it means they’re not happy—and they might charge you.’”
This advice has made hiking more nerve-wracking for the actress. "I go hiking all the time, and footpaths often go through fields of cows," Winslet explained. "I’ve convinced myself they’re going to stampede me."
Winslet shared a specific memory that added to her phobia. "Once, my mother and I were on a walk, and some cows started catching up with us. At first, they were slowly Bo-Peeping, but then they sped up—borderline galloping!" While the situation didn’t escalate further, it reinforced her wariness of cattle.
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind star also pointed out that she’s not alone in her fear. "In England, there are plenty of stories about people having dangerous encounters with cows," she said. "So I’m extremely cautious around them."
Despite her vigilance, Winslet admitted the fear isn’t entirely rational. "I need to work on it because, honestly, they’re not really scary… are they?" she mused with a laugh.
As quirky as her fear of cows may be, it isn’t the strangest thing in the Winslet household. Winslet also spilled a funny secret about her husband, Edward Abel Smith: he has an extreme aversion to the sound of someone biting into an apple.
"Like nails on a chalkboard," she said, describing his reaction. "If someone bites into an apple—whether it’s him or someone else—it sends him into a frenzy. He’d never bite into one himself. If he was here, just the thought of it would make his hairs stand on end!"
Winslet admitted she and her children sometimes tease him by sneaking up and chomping an apple nearby. "He’s like, ‘Ahhh!’ It’s like you poured hot water over his skull," she joked. "He’ll block his ears and run out of the room."
Between her unexpected phobia and her husband’s peculiar quirk, it seems the Winslet household has no shortage of amusing stories to share.
Source: Entertainment Weekly