Here's why Kate Winslet won't be boycotting the Oscars

Kate Winslet says she won't be boycotting 88th Academy Awards - because she wants to see good friend Leonardo DiCaprio finally get a Oscar.

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Although a number of celebrities - including Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith - are skipping this year's ceremony in protest at the lack of diversity, Best Supporting Actress nominee Kate insisted she will attend because she is positive that Leonardo will win Best Actor for The Revenant.

She told the BBC: "To be honest with you, it has been such an extraordinary year for women, I'd feel like I was letting my side down if I didn't go. And also I feel very strongly that it may possibly be Leo's year. And he is my closest friend in the world, and I just couldn't imagine not being there to support him."

Kate - who has been nominated for her role in Steve Jobs - previously called her 'Titanic' co-star Leonardo a "solid (and) loyal person" who has gotten more handsome with age.

She said: "He's a solid, loyal person. He's a great friend, he always has been, and not just to me, but to everyone around him. He still has friends he had when we made 'Titanic'. In many ways he hasn't changed a bit, but in other ways he absolutely has changed."

"He's a stronger actor in this moment than he's ever been. I think he's more handsome than he's ever been. And he feels, to me, the most settled he's ever felt, in himself, right now, which is quite strange, really, given that there's a lot happening around him. He's quite centered and calm, and that's different to the way he was 20 years ago."