Kate Winslet says she felt bullied by the media after her role as Rose in 1997’s Titanic. James Cameron’s groundbreaking box office hit propelled Winslet and her co-star, Leonardo DiCaprio to new levels of stardom. Winslet was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress following the film’s release and it eventually tied with Ben-Hur after winning 11 Academy Awards, the most for a single film.
Titanic’s theatrical run is historic. The film long held the record for highest grossing film of all time and was only bested by Cameron’s 2009 hit Avatar twelve years later. Now, it sits comfortably in the number three spot after Avatar was beat out by Avengers: Endgame in 2019. DiCaprio and Winslet would reunite over a decade later for Revolutionary Road, but nothing could match the success of their first pairing.
Winslet says that that success negatively affected her, though. In an interview with Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast (via Deadline), Winslet described what it felt like to rise to such prominence after her role in Titanic. Winslet says she felt bullied by the British media after scrutiny over physicality in the role, forcing her to go into “self-protective mode.” Winslet acknowledged that the treatment passed, but that it has stayed with her all these years.
I went into self-protective mode right away [after Titanic came out]. It was like night and day from one day to the next. I was subject to a lot of personal physical scrutiny, I was criticized a lot and the British press were quite unkind to me. I felt bullied if I’m honest. I remember thinking, ‘this is horrible and I hope it passes’ – it did definitely pass but it made me realize that, if that’s what being famous was, I was not ready to be famous, definitely not.
Winslet famously pursued smaller roles after her appearance in Titanic, forgoing larger pictures and focusing on smaller passion projects. Winslet went on to star in indie hits like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Children and The Reader. It would be years before Winslet again ventured into blockbuster territory with films like Divergent and its sequel. It’s clear that Winslet’s treatment affected her trajectory as an artist, but it may have been for the better. Winslet has established herself as a formidable actress, willing to take on risky roles that elicit solid performances.
DiCaprio’s trajectory was a bit different. Titanic turned the young actor into a teen heartthrob and he clearly didn’t face the same scrutiny Winslet did. DiCaprio went on to take a variety of roles that would see the actor dip his toes again into blockbuster territory as well as taking on smaller roles like Winslet. The underlying sexism at the hands of the press during that time is hard to miss when Winslet’s comments are taken into account. Titanic clearly changed both of its leads lives in the same way it did the film industry as a whole. The role the press played in that is a clear indicator of how the media can shape young actors’ lives years after their careers have taken off.
