Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio's Titanic Kiss Wasn't As Romantic As It Seemed

Few moments in Hollywood history were quite as romantic and iconic as the "I'm flying!" scene in "Titanic." However, the facade of its romance cracked in 2024 when star Kate Winslet revealed to Vanity Fair that a whole lot of movie magic went into making an awkward filming experience seem so swoon-worthy. While she watched the moment play out in her interview, Winlset shared that they had to do multiple takes because DiCaprio kept cracking up while director James Cameron had a very specific vision for the lighting. Additionally, the hair and makeup team couldn't reach them to do touch-ups without climbing a ladder. So, Winslet was left with no choice but to keep both of their makeup materials concealed in her corset and handle their touch-ups between takes. 

As she watched their kiss, the Oscar winner conceded that it looked great on screen but reiterated that it was uncomfortable behind the scenes. "We kept doing this kiss, and I have a lot of pale makeup on and I would have to do our makeup checks — me, on both of us, between takes — and I would end up looking as though I had been sucking a caramel chocolate bar after each take, because his makeup would come off on me," Winslet explained. The British star has always been refreshingly open about her experiences filming "Titanic." In a 1998 chat with Rolling Stone the actor even confessed that she occasionally relieved herself in the flooded sets because it took far too long to get out of her outfit.

During a 2012 interview with The Sun, Kate Winslet admitted that she regretted filming the nude scene in "Titanic." In fact, the actor couldn't even stand to watch the moment unfold, sadly acknowledging, "I wish I hadn't shown so much flesh but I was young and I knew I had things to prove," per Unilad. Likewise, in the "Holiday" star's 2014 chat with Yahoo! Winslet asserted that she didn't like fans asking her to sign the nude portrait of herself and often turned down the request altogether as a result. Suffice it to say that Winslet has been open about the fact that filming "Titanic" wasn't nearly as romantic as it seemed. 

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 1997, the "Mare of Easttown" star confirmed that she endured a grueling work schedule for the Oscar-winning movie, which started from day one as she walked on to the set at 5 a.m. and only left at 1 a.m. the following day. As they neared the end of the shoot, Winslet was lucky if she got four hours of total sleep in a day. To make matters even more stressful, James Cameron would lose his temper with crew members when things didn't go as planned. 

And to top all it off, the British star almost drowned while filming an underwater sequence when her coat got caught on a gate — but the director wasn't fazed. As Winslet recalled, "I had no breath left. I thought I'd burst. And Jim just said, 'OK, let's go again.' That was his attitude. I didn't want to be a wimp so I didn't complain."