Kate Winslet has revealed her famous kissing scene with Leonardo DiCaprio in Titantic was a ‘nightmare’ to film.
The actress, 48, recalled the scene where she and Leo, 49, kiss while at the top of the boat and said the smooch was ‘not all it’s cracked up to be’.
Rewatching the scene for an interview with Vanity Fair, Kate told how both she and Leo’s makeup kept rubbing off on each other.
The film star said the scene was difficult to film because director James Cameron wanted the perfect lighting and it was also filmed on a part of the set that was difficult to access so the hair and makeup team couldn’t be there with them.
Patting her top, Kate said: ‘I have gotten hidden in here and here, I’ve got his makeup and brushes and sponge and my makeup and brushes and sponge in the other side.’
‘Between takes, I was basically redoing our makeup.’
‘We kept doing this kiss, and I’ve got a lot of pale makeup on and I would have to do our makeup checks — on both of us, between takes — and I would end up looking as though I’d been sucking a caramel chocolate bar after each take because his makeup would come off on me.’
Leo faced the same problem as Kate’s much lighter makeup kept rubbing off on his face during takes.
However, the scene wasn’t all bad as Kate admitted her co-star was ‘quite the romancer’.
She said: ‘No wonder every young girl in the world wanted to be kissed by Leonardo DiCaprio. It was not all it’s cracked up to be.’
In another interview with Variety, Kate dismissed the ‘stupid’ rumours of a rift between her and James Cameron after she had spoken about the difficulties of filming the blockbuster in interviews.
She said: ‘There’s a part of me that feels almost sad that stupid, speculative Titanic stuff at the time overshadowed the actual relationship I have with him. He knows I will be up for anything. Any challenge, any piece of direction you give me? I’ll try it.’
Kate and James went on to work together again in his 2022 film Avatar: The Way Of Water.
Titanic was the highest grossing film of all time until the release of the first Avatar film in 2009.
The film made Kate a star around the world, which she found difficult to adjust to.
She said: ‘I actually felt a bit beaten up by it, truth be told…I had a lovely family, but all my family saw is ‘My God, Kate’s got work in a really big film.’ One doesn’t want to turn around to your mum and dad and say, ‘It’s really hard, actually.’
Kate’s daughter Mia Threapleton has also become an actress, appearing in recent films like Firebrand and Scoop.
Asked if she’s nervous about Mia’s new career in the limelight, Kate said: ‘Thank God, this terrible criticism that could be actively damaging—that has stopped.
‘If that part’s gone away, she can figure out the rest herself. She’s so emotionally robust and true to herself, I don’t worry.’