Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio became overnight sensations all over the world with their 1997 Titanic. A once highest-grossing film, it went on to earn more than $2 Billion worldwide. But shockingly DiCaprio wasn’t much interested in playing Jack Dawson in the iconic film.
It was his co-star and now one of his best friends Kate Winslet who managed to convince DiCaprio with her persistent efforts. It was because of her that we got one of the most iconic on-screen pair of all time and surely couldn’t be more grateful!
Leonardo DiCaprio Agreed To Do Titanic Because Of Kate Winslet
Titanic played an instrumental role in Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s careers. One of the best movies of all time, it went on to touch even the farthest corners of the world. While Kate Winslet had already agreed to do the film, DiCaprio was in two minds. Winslet was doing screen-testing with a couple of other actors competing for DiCaprio’s role. When Winslet found DiCaprio was one of the contenders too and hadn’t signed yet, she did not want to do the film with anyone else but him.
“I actually tracked him down in the hotel he was staying and I said, ‘Look, I’m not going to do this without you! It’s going to be really great and we’re going to have loads of fun, and I’m nice to work with. As much as I could I kept calling him and persuading him until finally I think he felt so guilty about the idea of not doing it. And thank God he did.”
Thanks to her persistent efforts, Leonardo DiCaprio finally agreed. Even though the director James Cameron was trying it all to get him to agree, it was Kate who finally managed to convince him or rather guilt-tripped him for Titanic.
After Starring In Titanic, Kate Winslet Had A Very Hard Time
Kate Winslet became the best-known celebrity thanks to the fame brought by Titanic. Despite starring in the billion-dollar film, the young actress had a pretty hard time navigating. Due to her stardom, the attention and exposure began influencing her life and she felt lost and unsupported.
“It isn’t easy going through that level of exposure so quickly. What I do wish is that I had had more support going through those early days. It’s genuinely difficult. I was living in my lovely little two-bedroom flat in north London… and suddenly I couldn’t just walk down the street and buy a pint of milk.”
Things changed for her overnight, and the actress devoid of support struggled for years to navigate through her life of being an A-listed celebrity.
You can stream The Titanic on Amazon Prime.
Source: CheatSheet
