Kate Bosworth Always Gets Back On the Horse

Clichés get a bad rap — but actress and bonafide cool girl Kate Bosworth lives by one, and it's clear to see that it's a cliché for a reason. Its motivating power actually works.

If or when she gets knocked down, the Blue Crush actress gets back up. And she's always embodied this sentiment, whether she was horseback riding as a child, risking it all to move to L.A. and pursue acting, or learning to surf for a role that would change her life. She's always picked herself up after falling.

In fact, when auditioning for the role of Anne Marie in Blue Crush, the actress committed to learning how to surf, even though the role called for an experienced wave rider, and she was definitely not that. After she "ate shit" on the board in her audition, Bosworth says it was her surf instructor who convinced the casting director that while she wasn't the most skilled surfer, no one would be "more determined."

"Literally, eight to 10 hours a day, I was driving to Point Doom," she explains to InStyle's editor in chief Laura Brown on this week's episode of Ladies First With Laura Brown. "I committed myself for the three to four weeks. I really thought that I was going to have this quintessential heroic moment that I've learned, I've mastered it, and the role is mine. And there was a surf instructor there, he had taken me out, and I just ate shit over and over and over and over again. It was really sad. And yet, remember, I'm also the 4-year-old who said, 'I'll get back on.'"

And getting back on the metaphorical horse (or surfboard in this situation) happened to launch her career. She of course landed the role in Blue Crush, becoming an aughties sensation and household name.

Speaking of clichés that consistently prove to be true, in Bosworth's experience, being catapulted to fame at such a young age had its downsides. "It was so intense and overwhelming," she told Brown. "It was a really, really hard time, and I did not know how to handle that at all. And I also did not know how to really communicate through that very well to support systems or to my friends or family."

The Remember the Titans star recalls the toll that being in the throes of fame and scrutiny began to take on her health. "I was losing a lot of weight because I was really under a lot of scrutiny, and I was so stressed and spun out that if you see images of me then, it's like seeing someone under duress," she said. "And I think that a lot of times people in the spotlight get this sort of thing, like, 'Well, that's what you chose,' and that's what it is."

She sympathizes with today's youth, who are practically thrown head first into the all-consuming pressures and expectations of social media. Remembering the challenges she faced coming up has left her with the desire to mentor other young creatives.

Kate Bosworth Will Always Get Back on the Horse: Episode 28: June 29, 2021

And as it turns out, Bosworth had quite the mentor herself — who later turned into her "best friend and a lover."

"I met Mike [Polish, Bosworth's husband], and he had made a career of making movies that were from concept to delivery. He had an idea, he would write a script, he would make them, and they would become films. And he was the first person in my corner who really said, 'Oh, but you can do anything you want.' He really did become a mentor to me, I feel like he still is."

She added, "That relationship has sort of segued now into a very firm partnership. He's 14 years older than me; he'd been doing this for a lot longer than I had. And he just really took me by the hand and said, 'We've got this; you've got this.'"

After an lasting, expansive (she filmed her first movie at just age 14, alongside Scarlett Johansson), and immensely successful career that's still blossoming — she's currently working on a 10 episode series with her husband — Bosworth still finds that stress can can hold her back from living life to the fullest at times. But regardless, the actress manages to eat a good burger "at least once a week."

"I'm a real burger connoisseur," she says. "There's a place in L.A. called Burgers Never Say Die that I'm obsessed with. And they know me — they're like, 'Oh, there's Kate.'"

Listen to the full episode and subscribe on Apple, PlayerFM, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. And tune in weekly to Ladies First with Laura Brown hosted by InStyle's editor in chief Laura Brown, who speaks to guests like Michelle Pfeiffer, Emily Ratajkowski, Cynthia Erivo, Naomi Watts, La La Anthony, Ellen Pompeo, Rep. Katie Porter, and more to discuss current events, politics, some fashion, and, most importantly, the major firsts in their lives.