Kate Winslet scheduled Ammonite sex scene on Saoirse Ronan's birthday

Kate Winslet arranged for the filming of a sex scene in Ammonite to fall on co-star Saoirse Ronan's birthday.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Winslet, who plays fossil collector Mary Anning in the historical romance drama, said she rescheduled shooting the tryst to give Ronan a day to remember.

"I just wanted her to have, frankly, a great memory in her film life, regardless of how the scene played out or the movie turned out," Winslet divulged.

"I knew that it would be (great) just because of the experience that we would share together. I knew that it would be very equal," she remarked, adding that it was "by far the least self-conscious" she's felt when filming an intimate moment.

Recalling: "Saoirse and I choreographed the scene ourselves... I just think Saoirse and I, we just felt really safe," Winslet revealed that director Director Francis Lee was initially very nervous but trusted the actresses to work out the scene between themselves.

Winslet also shared that the scene made her reflect on her previous roles.

“I almost felt a little bit angry at myself when I thought about how, perhaps, I have conducted my own female self when I participated in intimate scenes in the past,” she mused.

Winslet clarified that, although no previous director ever made her feel "overpowered or overruled" shooting Ammonite had opened her eyes to how many sex scenes in cinema require the woman to be "taken".

“This is why I feel a responsibility checking myself. Were my thoughts coming from a truly integral place within myself, or was I just automatically being accommodating?” she mulled.