“Clicked Immediately, Right Away”: Titanic’s Kate Winslet Recalls Meeting Leonardo DiCaprio

Kate Winslet describes what it was like working with Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time on the set of Titanic. Playing Rose and Jack, respectively, Winslet and DiCaprio played the central lovers in the iconic 1997 James Cameron film. Titanic was a box-office juggernaut and is still one of the most beloved romance films to date.

In a clip from Entertainment Tonight, Winslet explains what it was like to work with DiCaprio on Titanic. According to Winslet, she and DiCaprio “clicked immediately, right away.” She described DiCaprio as having “this effervescent energy that was really magnetic.” Check out the full quote from Winslet below:

Once I started working with Leo, we were able to kind of find our own rhythm. And it’s amazing to kind of look back and think about it all over again. [We] clicked immediately, right away.

He was this kind of a mess of long, skinny, uncoordinated limbs, and he was just very free with himself, and he had this effervescent energy that was really magnetic. And I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is gonna be fun. We’re definitely gonna get along.’ And we just really did. We just really did.

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s On-Screen Chemistry Helped Give Titanic Its Legacy

Looking at Titanic, Winslet’s description of DiCaprio rings true. At 23 years old, DiCaprio brought a youthful, “very free,” energy to the role. Though he was already an Oscar-nominated actor even before the role (for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape in 1994), DiCaprio was still a newer star when he played Jack. This made his performance even more refreshing, as he was a newer face to many audiences seeing Titanic in theaters.

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Titanic Cast & Character Guide

James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster includes a stellar cast playing some timeless fictional characters and a few real-life historical personalities.

Combined with Winslet’s composed approach to the loving, sweet character of Rose, DiCaprio’s Jack was even more alluring. Featuring iconic scenes such as Jack drawing Rose to him embracing her as they feel like they are on top of the world, DiCaprio and Winslet’s performances made the characters’ chemistry feel all the more believable. The actors’ relationship was so strong on screen that the two went on to play a couple again in 2008’s Revolutionary Road.

It is these incredible performances that helped give Titanic its enduring legacy. The performances make the film what it is and cement the characters and story as one of the most beloved of all time. Titanic is also seen as a major launching point for both DiCaprio and Winslet as well, which has also become part of its legacy. As Titanic continues to be viewed en masse, it is great to know that the on-screen closeness between DiCaprio and Winslet was paralleled off-screen.