Kate Winslet’s Bold Move on the Set of Titanic Helped Create Movie Magic

It’s no secret that film scenes are shot out of order, and the very first scene the Titanic crew had to work on was the famous “Draw me like one of your French girls” moment. The movie stars barely knew each other, and it could’ve been very awkward, but Kate Winslet found a way to break the ice.

Kate and Leo did not know each other before meeting on the set of Titanic.

For over 2 decades now, the duo have been inseparable and have shown us the meaning of true friendship on multiple occasions. Publicly, they always supported and congratulated each other on major accomplishments, and DiCaprio even walked her down the aisle when she got married. And privately, the stars have always been able to rely on each other during the bad times in their lives.

They were just strangers before getting cast in Titanic. And on the first day of shooting, they had to shoot a scene where Rose had to strip down in order for Jack to draw her, like one of his “French girls.”

Something needed to be done in order to break the ice.

Having to be nude in the presence of a stranger would be, without a doubt, awkward for anybody. First, for the scene to work, there had to be chemistry between the actors. Second, Kate and Leo had months of working side-by-side ahead, so if their relationship had a tense start, it might have become a bigger problem.

Luckily, Kate isn’t one to be shy. DiCaprio recalled the day of the shoot, saying, “She had no shame with it. She wanted to break the ice a little beforehand, so she flashed me.”

Her boldness put Leo at ease and led to a great friendship.

Leonardo stated that, while he wasn’t prepared for Kate Winslet’s naughty behavior, he didn’t mind. “I wasn’t prepared for that, so she had a one-up on me. I was pretty comfortable after that.”

Moreover, on the set, they became the prankster duo, with Leonardo’s off-screen job being “grossing out Kate,” as recalled by Billy Zane, who played Rose’s fiancé Cal. He mentioned that among DiCaprio’s pranks, one was rolling back his eyelids really far.

The pair became best friends during the 7 months of shooting.

While on-screen, they had to play a couple falling in love, when the cameras were off, they were 2 good friends with no romantic intentions. Kate said they were never in love and they never flirted with each other.

Instead, DiCaprio noted that they “unloaded the stresses of the shoot to each other, vented to each other, watched out for each other.” Ultimately, he feels grateful that Winslet was his on-screen partner, as filming the movie “would have been much harder without her.”

Kate revealed that while she was nervous before filming with Leo because he was “a bit gorgeous” and she was afraid he would find her “all stuffy and Shakespearean and English,” she said that the 2 clicked immediately the second they met.

To this day, the actors are “very, very close” and sometimes quote random lines from Titanic to each other because they are the only ones who can do it and find it really funny.

So Kate Winslet’s risky move worked out way better than one could hope in the end.

Bright Side has published more fun facts about Titanic! Check out these articles:

• What 11 Titanic Passengers Actually Looked Like in Real Life
• 10 Mistakes From “Titanic” That Only True Fans Can Spot
• Kate Winslet Reveals She Was Criticized for “Titanic” Along With a Regret She Has
• “Jack Might’ve Lived,” How the Ending of “Titanic” Could Have Been Different