James Cameron Stood In For Leonardo DiCaprio During One Of Titanic's Most Famous Scenes
(To celebrate "Titanic" and its impending 25th-anniversary re-release, we've put together a week of explorations, inquires, and deep dives into James Cameron's box office-smashing disaster epic.)
Until just this month, James Cameron's "Titanic" was the highest-grossing film in Paramount Pictures' history. Though the 1997 film was dethroned by "Top Gun: Maverick," it took a quarter of a century to happen. The film was nominated for 14 Academy Awards, winning 11 of them, including Best Picture and Best Director. Those are some pretty lofty awards for Cameron, but did you know he acted in it as well? Well, part of him did, according to a 2017 feature in ET Online, to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary.
We're talking about the famous scene where artist Jack (DiCaprio) draws Rose (Winslet) while she's wearing only the famous Heart of the Ocean necklace. You know the one because when your cat stretches out upside down on the couch, you definitely quote the line, "draw me like one of your French girls." I've seen the memes.
According to Cameron, he doubled for Jack in part of that scene. Before you freak out, it didn't go exactly the way you think.
'I think Leo was a little, tiny, tiny bit overwhelmed by it'
In the ET Online feature, Cameron explains that he's actually the one drawing Winslet in the famous scene from "Titanic." In fact, Cameron was the one who did Jack's entire sketchbook. He says, "It's my then-42-year-old hand doubling his 21-year-old hand." He also said that this scene happened only a few days into the shoot, so DiCaprio and Winslet didn't know each other that well yet, making them a bit uncomfortable with it all. He explains:
"So Kate and Leo, they'd been through the rehearsal process, they'd just gotten to know each other, and here she is having to drop trou in front of him ... I think Leo was a little, tiny, tiny bit overwhelmed by it because there's a little gaffe in it.
"I don't know if it was intentional, you'll have to ask him, but I don't think it was. Where he says, 'Get on the bed, I mean the couch.' And he actually just said that. It's plain to see where his mind was, and I left it in the film because I thought it was funny. It was just that one take, which led me to believe it was, in fact, unintentional."
To be fair, the outlet points out that in 1997, DiCaprio told them he wasn't uncomfortable. He said at the time, "It was like jumping right into it, you know, for her. I wasn't uncomfortable at all. I felt uncomfortable for her. but the scene worked out well."
It wasn't just that Cameron's hand ended up on camera for the scene, though. He actually sketched the real Winslet.
'Jim Cameron actually drew it'
Despite what we see on camera, it wasn't only DiCaprio faking a drawing, with Cameron's hands filmed separately. Winslet appeared on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" back in 2017 to promote her film "Wonder Wheel." You may have seen the video because Colbert and Winslet recreate the door scene on Colbert's desk, "proving" they could both fit. It's definitely worth a watch for that alone. However, Winslet also revealed that Cameron sketched her in person. She says, "Jim Cameron actually drew it ... and he did sketch me, but he did actually sketch me in a bathing suit."
Well, that makes it a little less weird, I guess. In case you're wondering, Cameron has a history in art. According to the book "Tech Noir: The Art of James Cameron," the director began drawing at an early age and even made money by illustrating theatrical posters and concept art.
"Titanic" will return to theaters to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film in Ultra HD on February 10, 2023.