# Catherine Zeta-Jones says US move humbled her before big break with Steven Spielberg

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/catherine-zeta-jones-says-us-move-humbled-her-before-big-break-with-steven-spielberg/
- Published: 2026-11-13T17:59:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T22:36:52+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Entertainment (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqgm3gn4k7dno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Americas, Celebrity, Entertainment, World

## Key points

- Moving to California gave Zeta-Jones an ego check.
- Spielberg spotted her in the *Titanic* mini-series.
- *The Mask of Zorro* helped establish her as a star.

## Summary

Catherine Zeta-Jones says moving to California in the 1990s humbled her after she had become well known in Britain through *The Darling Buds of May*. In Hollywood, casting agents asked whether she had any acting experience, giving her a reality check before she landed a role that helped launch her international career.

Steven Spielberg saw her in the CBS mini-series *Titanic* and encouraged her to audition for *The Mask of Zorro*, which he was producing. She won the part five days after her screen test with Antonio Banderas in Mexico, then began sword-fighting lessons three days later. Zeta-Jones later starred with Sean Connery in *Entrapment* and now leads *Kill Jackie*, where she uses her Swansea accent.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.