Kate Winslet catapulted her name in the industry in the 90s with a string of successful films that showed her acting abilities such as Heavenly Creatures, Sense and Sensibility, and Hamlet. She was gaining prominence as a rising star who showed a great future ahead as an actress in Hollywood. James Cameron was coming out with his latest hit True Lies and was busy preparing for his next film which became Titanic.
He auditioned many actors for the lead roles of Jack and Rose in the film, but he couldn’t find anyone who satisfied him. Winslet who eventually went on to star in the film was not Cameron’s first choice of the film. He even thought that she wouldn’t fit in the film as she was known to star in period dramas before.
Kate Winslet Was Called ‘Corset Kate’ Before She Blew Everyone Away with Titanic
Kate Winslet starred in two highly successful period dramas Sense and Sensibility and Hamlet early in her career. Thus, people developed a certain perception and reputation of Winslet as someone perfect for historical dramas and nothing else. So, when James Cameron considered Winslet for Titanic which was a big studio film, he thought it would be the laziest casting ever. He talked to GQ about how Winslet’s performance later blew him away saying,
“I actually didn’t see Kate at first. She had done a couple of historical dramas as well and she was getting the reputation as ‘Corset Kate’ doing historical stuff. And so I thought ‘ Oh man, this is gonna look like the laziest casting in the world. Alright, I’ll meet her sure’. But maybe I was thinking maybe Gwyneth Paltrow or somebody else. And I met Kate and she was fantastic, she was just fantastic.”
Winslet’s talent shocked Cameron and even audiences when Titanic became her biggest success, grossing more than $2 billion at the box office. Her performance as Rose became the most iconic role in her career and people still sob and cry watching Jack and Rise’s doomed romance amidst a sinking ship.
Kate Winslet is Really Grateful to be a Part of Titanic and its Phenomenon
Titanic was recently re-released for its 25th anniversary by James Cameron. Kate Winslet talked about the impact of the film and feeling grateful for being part of something very special to many people. She told Today,
“For us, it’s actually 27 years because we made the film 27 years ago, that’s over half my lifetime. So there’s something really phenomenal being able to talk about this film with so much affection and so much excitement, knowing that there’s yet another generation of young people who are gonna go and see this film in the cinema for the first time ever. It’s an amazing thing to be part of that gift that keeps giving in that way… I never imagined I’d be part of something like that.”
The film created history winning 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director for James Cameron, becoming the rare film to win the most number of Academy Awards alongside Ben-Hur. New audiences who have not experienced the sensational film can watch it on Disney+.
