Kate Winslet Followed Leonardo to His Hotel Room to Convince Him to do Titanic: "Not Doing This Without You"
Kate Winslet once followed her Titanic co-actor Leonardo DiCaprio all the way to his room in order to convince him to act in the hit film. The actor was reportedly very hesitant about playing his now iconic role as Jack in the blockbuster film.
In a 2014 article by Hollywood.com, Winslet recalled the time when she had to use a little unorthodox method to convince her co-star and now best friend to act in the movie. Titanic was one of those films that still remains legendary. DiCaprio's character Jack and Winslet's character Rose were deemed the modern version of Romeo and Juliet.
The story itself had an incredible plotline and stands as one of the best-written romances to date. The movie had everything - a little bit of action, drama, thrill, and more importantly - a slow-burn romance fueled with a raw depth of emotion that touched the hearts of millions globally. The film was indeed a global phenomenon and success when it was released in 1997.
Fans of the film were dumbfounded in shock upon learning about the possibility that their beloved Jack could've been portrayed by another actor. Although the Avatar franchise director desperately attempted to recruit DiCaprio for the role, it was Winslet's efforts that won him over in the end. In the interview, the actress mentioned that she tracked down the actor's hotel information and proceeded to convince him in his room. "I actually tracked him down in the hotel he was staying in," said Winslet.
She proceeded to mention the exact words that melted his heart and won him over. "Look, I'm not going to do this without you!" said the actress in a pleading manner. To further coax the actor, she said, "It's going to be really great, and we're going to have loads of fun." She also reassured him that she wasn't a bothersome actress to work with and mentioned being extremely professional and fun to work with. "I'm nice to work with," said the actress.
She also revealed that for further persuasion, she kept pestering the actor with several phone calls in a day. According to Winslet, she believes that the actor had finally given in to her constant efforts to persuade him out of guilt for not agreeing to it much earlier than he should have. Because of these relentless efforts on Winslet's part, DiCaprio finally agreed to do the film which grossed millions in sales when it was released.
In response to these efforts and being asked why he had to be so thoroughly convinced, DiCaprio had his own reason. "I don't know what it's like to do a film like that, and I'm kind of petrified," admitted the actor.
He proceeded to give due credit to his beloved co-actress and said, "I had a lot of conversations with James Cameron, but it was Kate at the end of the day, and we sort of dove, no pun intended, into it together," said the actor. He then highlights how they're both "two young independent actors" who wanted to try something new and have a completely different experience.
