Kate Winslet has said winning her Oscar felt like her sweet revenge against school bullies.

The actress, who was picked on as a youngster, scooped the best actress prize for her performance in The Reader at the 2009 ceremony, after receiving five previous nominations.

She said: “I think bullying can take on different forms. It can come in very aggressive physical forms or just in the way of horrible isolation, intimidation and saying very unkind cruel things and that was the case for me.

“So yeah, it was a pretty satisfying moment to be in the position I’m in now, today and to have won an Academy Award and to stand up there tall and proud and have achieved something great. It did certainly make the moment feel all the more sweeter, I think.”

Kate Winslet at the 2009 Oscars
Kate Winslet at the 2009 Oscars (Matt Sayles/AP)

Kate opened up about her tormented teenage years when she appeared on Running Wild With Bear Grylls, telling the explorer: “I was chubby, always had big feet, the wrong shoes, bad hair. There was one girl who was horrible to me.”

The 40-year-old actress next stars as fashion designer Myrtle ‘Tilly’ Dunnage in comedy-drama The Dressmaker, with Aussie hunk Liam Hemsworth as her love interest.

Liam Hemsworth and Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker
Liam Hemsworth and Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker (Entertainment Film Distributors)

She admitted the 15-year age gap between them was not an issue.

“It’s funny, I don’t really notice age or think about it that much,” she said.

Liam Hemsworth and Kate Winslet in The Dressmaker
A scene from The Dressmaker (Entertainment Film Distributors)

“There was a moment I remember when we’d been filming for about a week and I thought, ‘God, I wonder how old Liam is’ and I remember saying to somebody is he that much younger than me… but it hadn’t actually occurred to me in the slightest.

“In the story, they’re supposed to be equals or certainly to have been raised in a similar way in tandem, similar ages, etc, in this tiny little town, so it wasn’t something that particularly bothered me.”

Kate also spoke about her bond with co-star Judy Davis, who plays her screen mother Molly Dunnage.

Kate Winslet and Judy Davis in The Dressmaker
Kate Winslet and Judy Davis (Entertainment Film Distributors)

She said: “Judy and I had that kind of rapport which was brilliant actually. We were very lucky to be able to create that level of humour between the two of us and also to be able to find sensitive moments as mother and daughter, because it was such an important part of the story.

“On the page, a lot of their banter is very vicious and back and forth and comedic and to be able to find sensitive moments within that structure was something we felt quite proud of.”

The Dressmaker opens in UK cinemas on Friday, November 20.