Kate Winslet Reflects on Chemistry with Leonardo DiCaprio (Exclusive)

It is safe to say that the success of James Cameron‘S Titanic hinged on Kate Winslet‘s chemistry with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Luckily, the two young stars immediately connected, turning the 1997 epic into the iconic classic it is today. And more than twenty years after the film’s theatrical release, their bond is still a wonder, with Winslet providing new insight for a new featurette: Titanic: Stories from the Heart, found it on the bonus disc of the new 4k Ultra HD release.

“Once I started working with Leo, we were able to kind of find our own rhythm. And it’s amazing to look back and think about it all over again,” Winslet recalls in ET’s exclusive look at the upcoming release above .

She remembers that we “clicked immediately.” “He was kind of a mess of long, skinny, uncoordinated limbs. And he was just very free with himself, and he had this vibrant energy that was really magnetic,” she adds. “And I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is going to be fun. We’ll definitely get along well.’ And we really did that. We just really did it.”

Winslet talks about her former co-star and close friend and praises DiCaprio for his approach to their characters, describing the other star as a “fiercely intelligent man.”

“He was very, very smart then, very, very curious. So he was really fascinated by the period, the details related to the boat, the lower classes, where those people came from, how those people got their tickets paid,” she shares. “We connected on so many levels. That sense of focusing on the craft and still caring deeply about it to this day.”

The close bond they formed on the Titanic set is still alive. Winslet shares how often the two connect in real time, saying, “And we’ll always call right away. There’s no such thing as, ‘Wait a minute, I’ll call you tomorrow.’ It’s immediate. And that’s actually a big deal.”

“You know, when you think about it, in the world we live in now, to have friendships that bond you, and that shared history, is really something,” she concludes.

To think there was a chance that DiCaprio wouldn’t have gotten the role of Jack opposite Winslet as Rose! Cameron revealed this during a conversation with ET last year he had to ‘sell’ the young actor to the studios at the time.

“Look, we were leaning towards Leo, but I didn’t see him do anything,” Cameron told ET. “And he didn’t want to read [for the part]. He said, ‘Oh, I don’t read.’ You know, I’m like, ‘Well, are you a little diva? 18 years old? 19 years old?’ ‘No, I don’t read.’ Like, “Okay, really? Bye. I wouldn’t want to be you.’ So I called his bluff, right? And he started reading. And of course he was spectacular.”

While DiCaprio may have convinced Cameron, the studio was not convinced. “But now I had to sell it to the studio,” the director recalls. “And they said, ‘Based on what?’ [What’s Eating] Gilbert Grape? Come on, we’re going to put up this huge movie, a romantic movie Gilbert Grape? Give me a break.’ So, you know, then I had to talk to him about it. But look, Leo wouldn’t let me film [him reading]. So I thought, ‘Okay, you’ll just have to take my word for it.'”

Needless to say, it was a ‘weak’ trip for Cameron. “It shows you how fragile the whole thing is, this whole filmmaking thing,” he said, before later adding, “I’m quite careful with my casting.”

“I mean, I certainly can’t imagine it being anyone other than Leo. But I wasn’t a party to any of those conversations either,” Winslet said of Cameron’s revelation that DiCaprio almost didn’t get the role. “I mean, how could it possibly not have been Leo?”

That said, “I’m extremely proud of it,” she said of the film, adding, “I’ve always maintained that Jim is a complete genius. He’s an extraordinary filmmaker and he knows exactly what he’s doing .His storytelling, his scriptwriting – – he’s extraordinary at creating not only strong roles for women, but for women who are at the center, who are leaders, you know, who lead with integrity.”

Fans can delve into more behind-the-scenes goodies when Titanic will be released for the first time in 4K Ultra HD on December 5. It will be available in a new two-disc set that also includes a Blu-ray disc with five hours of new and older bonus content, including the new Stories from the heart featurette.

Also available is a limited-edition collector’s box, containing a coffee table book, a blueprint of the Titanic, film reproductions including ship menus and Jack’s ill-fated boarding pass, and sheet music for ‘My Heart Will Go On’.

The bonus disc also includes new behind-the-scenes content with producer Jon Landau, who takes audiences behind the making of Titanic and his trailer.