Kate Winslet was fourth choice in "The Reader"

Kate Winslet may be tipped to win an Oscar for her role in The Reader, but she almost didnt get the part that has made her the toast of Hollywood.

ProducerHarvey Weinstein has revealed three other actresses were considered for the role of concentration camp guard Hanna Schmitz.The part was first offered to Nicole Kidman, but she was forced to drop out when she became pregnant with her daughter Sunday.
French actress Marion Cotillard, who won an Oscar in 2007 for La Vie En Rose,was screen tested for the role and impressed Weinstein.He then spoke with Australian actress Naomi Watts who said she was available to make the film.But according to Weinstein, the films British director Stephen Daldry insisted on having Winslet, 34, star in the film.

Weinstein,one of three producers of The Reader, said the other actresses wereconsidered as Winslet was already filming Revolutionary Road with Leonardo DiCaprio.He said they were worried that she would not be available to make the film and looked for alternatives.

InThe Reader, Winslets character is a former Nazi guard who stood by as 300 prisoners, who were being marched, met their death in a burning church.The film tells the story of her affair with a young German boy and his sexual awakening while reading books to her. Over
the course of the film, he wakes up to both her unappealing history and, during a war crimes trial, he discovers another shocking truth.Winslet is tipped to win the Best Actress award at the 81st Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday.