Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio Co-Starred in 'Titanic' - Here's a Look at Their Friendship 22 Years Later

They starred together in one of Hollywood’s greatest love stories and it shaped their lives, not only by turning them into superstars but also because of the strong bond the two share to this day.

44-year-old Kate Winslet and 45-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed one of the most famous big-screen couples of all time as Rose and Jack in the blockbuster, record-breaking film “Titanic,” released in December 1997.

Winslet and DiCaprio really got to know each other during the shooting of the film, and the two experienced being part of a massive cultural phenomenon together, apart from having excellent chemistry from day one.

“She’s such a terrific person in general that our chemistry naturally happened on screen. We just like each other as people,” DiCaprio shared with Entertainment Tonight while promoting the film.

While it is normal to become close for two people that spent several months portraying such an intimate and intense relationship, DiCaprio and Winslet managed to build a lasting and committed friendship. This is their story.

MEETING

When Winslet and DiCaprio were picked to play the main couple in James Cameron’s epic film, they weren’t friends, but they knew about each other since they already had made a name for themselves in the industry.

In fact, Winslet had mixed feelings about the prospect of playing DiCaprio’s lover, since she worried about liking her handsome, future co-star, in a romantic way.

While she didn’t have to worry about becoming mixed in a romance with her castmate, Winslet revealed that the two grew so close so fast that it sparked a little jealousy among her older friends.

FIRST SCENE TOGETHER

Winslet and DiCaprio were put to test early in the filming, since the first scene they did together for the movie was the one on which Jack draws Rose in the nude while she poses for him in her room.

As rumor has it, Winslet did something to make DiCaprio less tense about the potentially awkward scene, allegedly “flashing” the young actor as soon as the two met on set after learning about the scene in the screenplay.

This could have ease things up a little, but it didn’t prevent DiCaprio to mess up one of his lines, saying “over on the bed… the couch!” instead of the scripted “Lie on that couch,” which Cameron liked so much he left it just like that.

RUMORS OF A ROMANCE

It didn’t matter what kind of relationship Winslet and DiCaprio had during the filming, promotion, and screening of “Titanic,” the public and the media were obsessed over the idea of the two of them ending together in real life.

After the film hit theaters and had massive success, every interviewer asked the two young, beautiful, and trendy stars of the late ‘90s if they had something more than a friendship, something that they always categorically denied.

“We were both really young and luckily, and this is the fortunate thing, we never fancied each other,” Winslet told ITV in 2017.

SHARING THE SCREEN ONCE AGAIN

After starring in “Titanic,” Winslet and DiCaprio’s acting careers had a big boost, and the two went on to land great roles afterward.

She went on to appear in the likes of “Quills” (2000) and “Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind” (2004), while he was cast in movies like “Gangs of New York” (2002) and “The Departed” (2006).

In 2007, both were nominated at the Academy Awards, Winslet for “Little Children” and DiCaprio for “Blood Diamond,” and he was apparently caught winking at his good friend at one point of the ceremony.

While the two never lost contact and kept cultivating their friendship, it wasn’t until 2008 when they shared the screen for a second time, playing a married couple in “Revolutionary Road,” directed by Winslet’s husband of the time, Sam Mendes.

“We have a level of understanding which I really don’t have with another actor that I’ve ever worked with at all,” Winslet said about working with her “Titanic” co-star.

AWARD SHOWS

“Revolutionary Road” resulted in Golden Globes nominations for the two best friends and colleagues in 2009. During her acceptance speech, Winslet made a special mention of her longtime friend, in one of their most heartwarming public moments.

“Leo, I’m so happy I can stand here and tell you how much I love you, and how much I’ve loved you for 13 years. I love you with all my heart, I really do,” a teary-eyed Winslet said, as DiCaprio blew her a kiss from his seat.

In 2012, DiCaprio was nominated for another Golden Globe or “J. Edgar,” and Winslet won one for “Mildred Pierce,” and the two celebrated with a sweet friendly kiss.

In 2016, seven years after Winslet, DiCaprio won his

for “The Revenant,” and the actress

all the way, revealing that she considered him her “closest friend in the world.”