James Cameron’s Titanic is the perfect movie to go to when you feel the need for a good cry session. Both Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio exceptionally brought Rose and Jack to life and the audience couldn’t help but feel their emotions through the screen. After all, good chemistry between the main characters is quite an important factor if you want the viewers a hundred percent invested.

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic

However, there were other actors eyeing the role of Jack Dawson. And as Kate Winslet rehearsed with them, she had both good and bad experiences. The good experience was thanks to the one and only Matthew McConaughey. As for the bad experience, while she doesn’t remember the name of the actor, she does remember how he made her feel, and it was not pleasant!

Kate Winslet Calls Out Mystery Actor

Kate Winslet’s screen test for Titanic

Titanic went on to make $2.2 billion at the worldwide box office and even became a part of the National Film Registry. All of this couldn’t have been possible without James Cameron’s direction as well as Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s chemistry and compatibility. Of course, Winslet had to rehearse for the role with a few different actors before the team finally landed on DiCaprio. And while she doesn’t exactly remember much of the rehearsals, she does have a vague memory of a negative experience.

Talking to Josh Horowitz, Winslet recalled the time when an actor, whose name she couldn’t place, tried to ruin her chances of being in the film. She stated,
“He, whoever it was, very much wanted to let me know that he had been there doing this auditioning thing the whole of the day before. And absolutely threw out a couple of names of people who he had been auditioning with in camera. That he was completely trying to f*ck me up. And I was like, ‘mmhmm, yeah, mmhm.’”
Winslet continued that she would never do something of the sort to another actor and as for the said actor, she was convinced he was not going to get the role. Why? Well, according to the Mare of Easttown actress, Cameron wasn’t going to choose someone who had even a speck of arrogance in them.
“I just took from that, ‘Wow, I’ll never do that to another actor. I will never, ever do that to another actor.’ What is the point? But I also thought, ‘You’re not gonna get this part.’ I could just tell. He was just way too pleased with himself. And Jim Cameron, I could sense was not a person who was going to be very tolerant of any young actor who had any degree of arrogance. I could tell that about Jim. He’s a really sincere person and he was looking for actors who weren’t vain, weren’t gonna do mind games and who were gonna be absolutely in it and immersed.”
While Winslet did not remember who the arrogant actor was, she did say that he is not well-known in today’s time. She even stated that it might have been Jeremy Sisto when Horowitz suggested his name, although she was not certain.

Kate Winslet Adores Leonardo DiCaprio

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio

It was as if the stars aligned when Winslet and DiCaprio were chosen to be a part of Titanic. There couldn’t have been a better pairing! Not only did they beautifully come together as Rose and Jack, but they have also been friends for a long time now.

While she clearly wasn’t fond of the mystery actor, she has nothing but praise for DiCaprio, who makes her teary-eyed every time she talks about him. During her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winslet talked about her co-star and she just couldn’t stop praising him!
“Every time I talk about him honestly I want to burst into tears. If you look at his career…for me, and I think for most of us, he is the leading actor of his generation. I just think everything he does is flawless. He gives 100% of himself. This is a thing you don’t see as an audience member. The commitment and the hard work…The friendship that we have, we have a trust that’s so strong we knew we could push each other’s buttons.”
We are going to need some tissues because this friendship is just too adorable! The day this duo reunites on the big screen will be the day the Internet explodes and we simply cannot wait for it.

Titanic is available to stream on Prime Video.

Source: Josh Horowitz