Teen actor thanks Winslet

(Left to right) Gattlin Griffith is Henry and Kate Winslet is Adele in LABOR DAY Written for the Screen and Directed by Jason Reitman to be released by Paramount Pictures and Indian Paintbrush. LD-00360ERIE TIMES-NEWS

Fifteen-year-old Gattlin Griffith, the eldest of four sons of a stay-at-home mom and a stuntman, said he owes a big debt to Kate Winslet.

He stars with Winslet and Josh Brolin in "Labor Day," based on the Joyce Maynard novel and set in 1987.


Gattlin, who was 13 during filming, is Henry Wheeler. Winslet plays his mom, Adele, and Brolin is Frank, the uninvited house guest. The story is told through Henry's eyes.

This wasn't Gattlin's first film. At age 7 he portrayed Angelina Jolie's son in "Changeling," directed by Clint Eastwood and based on actual events.



"There were people opening Coke in the background and people on their laptops looking straight in the camera, all this crazy stuff," he recalled.


The first couple of takes were intimidating, and in between Gattlin walked over to Winslet and whispered, "He's so scary." She assured him, "Don't worry. Don't worry. He's just acting. Use that for the scene."






