Kate Winslet's Story About Almost Drowning While Filming The 'Titanic'

One of the biggest films of all time is "Titanic." The classic tale of the emotional love between Jack and Rose, played by Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, has long etched its place in the Hollywood records as a timeless masterpiece rivaled by only a few other movies.

For Winslet, the role brought her more fame than she could have ever imagined. Her popularity skyrocketed overnight, and more acting doors were open to her. Also, she garnered several award nominations and earned a tidy sum for the role.

All these benefits came at a cost. The actress went through an intense film production process that tasked her mentally and physically. It was so bad that while shooting one of the scenes, Winslet thought she was really drowning.

Read below for more details about the scene.

The movie spawned out of the tragic accounts of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean. Hence, it was only natural that director James Cameron shot many scenes on the water. Winslet, for most parts, felt like she was fighting for her life due to the tasking production process.

In one scene, she and her co-star Dicaprio were by a closed gate while a wave of water fell on them. Eventually, the water overwhelmed them, and they got submerged. When the production team opened the gate to allow Winslet to resurface, her coat got hooked to one of the iron bars.

According to the Reader star, she had exhausted her air and felt like she was drowning at that moment. Eventually, she got rescued but was immediately asked by Cameron to shoot the part again. Not wanting to look like a wimp, she subjected herself to acting the scene. The actress also faced other grueling scenes that left her scarred. She allegedly chipped a small bone in her elbow and was deeply bruised all over her arms.

Although the actor had just seen her life flash before her eyes, her ordeal did not immediately elicit any emotional response from Cameron. Instead, the famous director continued with the production process.

The severity of the situation only dawned on him ten minutes after. Later on, he claimed that he didn't know that Winslet was really affected by the almost tragic scene but asserted that the actor wasn't actually in harm's way.

"At the point, we did that scene," Cameron said as per The Los Angeles Times, "I knew Kate was pretty stoic–she never expressed to me that she didn't want to continue. It didn't come to me until about 10 minutes later that she was really shaken. [In this scene] she was never in physical danger, but she perceived that she was."

Cameron is an award-winning director and has garnered respect in Hollywood. Known for his strict attitude on set, it was not surprising that Winslet, who had barely passed her twentieth age, feared him a lot.

"Titanic" was the "Revolutionary Road" star's first time working with the legendary director. She often felt the whip of his temper, which made filming on the classic more stressful in addition to the tasking scenes.

"He has a temper like you wouldn't believe," Winslet disclosed. Luckily for the actress, Cameron only brandished the tip of his temper to his stars. Winslet cited that the director could not go all out when admonishing them as it might affect the quality of their performance.

Regardless, Winslet still recalled Cameron as "a really tough nut to crack" but was very committed to making the film a success.

One might think that Winslet would not be interested in working with Cameron again after having a tough time while filming "Titanic." However, it seems time truly heals old wounds. The actress has teamed up with the famed director for the sci-fi blockbuster sequel "Avatar 2."

Fortunately, her experience this time is in stark contrast to her previous collaboration with the director. She was astonished to see that the 67-year-old had calmed down as he grew older.

"The Jim Cameron on Avatar, he is calmer. I will say that he's just stepped more into his true self, I think. That's because of experience," Winslet disclosed to Collider. "That's also because he has done Avatar before, so he knows this world, and he knows these characters."