Despite rumors that Leo and Kate Winslet clached with Titanic's director, James Cameron, during production, the three are friends. "We had a great working relationship on the set" the director says. "The three of us were perfectionists, so we were always challenging each other to be the best that we could be. And you see it on the screen. And we're great friends now. So I don't know where it came from, but it's horse pucky."
Leo says making the technically intense blockbuster(now the highest-grossing flick worldwide) was like "doing construction work." But he says studying his dad's free-spirit 'tude helped him develop Jack's emotional core. "I admire my father," Leo says. "He's just happy to put on his pants on in the morning. I think Jack has the same attidude, and that's what he gives to Rose."
Playing an uncomplicated guy was a challenge for the actor who has made his mark playing complex and troubled characters. "The most interesting thing was realizing how hard it was to play somebody who had no internal angst to fall back on. It was a lot more involved than I imagined it would be."