Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet

Jason Reitman has praised Kate Winslet as "one of the greatest actresses living today".

The 'Labor Day' director decided to wait until the Oscar-winning British actress was ready to make their new drama rather than re-cast the part when Winslet decided she wanted a break from Hollywood.

Instead, the director shot 'Young Adult', which earned star Charlize Theron an Oscar nomination, while co-star Josh Brolin filmed 'Men in Black 3'.

Reitman recalled: "Kate Winslet is one of the greatest actresses living today, and that there will ever be. If I've got a script that Kate Winslet is willing to say yes to, I will wait a year, I will wait five years.

"If Kate had said, 'Fuck this s**t', I would have found someone else. But, for the rest of my life, I get to say I directed Kate Winslet. It's huge."

The drama features a salacious kitchen-based sex scene and Reitman has likened it to the infamous scene between Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in 'Ghost'.

He told Empire magazine: "I think it's the dirtiest sex scene I'll ever shoot. People have been comparing it to the 'Ghost' ceramics scene and I like that comparison because that scene was an inch away from being ridiculous but works. I think that's what we've achieved here."