Never-Before-Seen Titanic Set Photos Show a Young Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet Newly released behind-the-scenes shots offer a glimpse at the glamour of filming the 1997 epic in Mexico
By Kate Hogan Kate Hogan Kate Hogan is Director of Digital Specials and Features at PEOPLE, as well as the editor of Stories to Make You Smile.She has been working at PEOPLE since 2008.People Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 19, 2023 10:13AM EST Trending Videos Leonardo DiCaprio filming ‘Titanic’.Photo: BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
Titanic came out 26 years ago this December, but months prior to that, never-before-seen images from the movie’s set were released, before they head to auction next month at Henry Aldridge & Son in the U.K.
The pictures were taken in by an unknown crew member on set in 1996 in Rosarito, Mexico, and showcase the star-studded cast — which included Leonardo DiCaprio , Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates — working alongside director James Cameron .
The photos previously belonged to a British collector, who handed them over to Henry Aldridge & Son.
“What is great about these photos is that they were clearly taken by a member of the crew using their own camera,” said auctioneer Andrew Aldridge, giving the images a pre-sale estimate of around $1,800.”They aren’t professional, PR shots, they are candid, amateur snaps.”
Here, see the photos for the very first time.
01 of 12 Taking Five Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet filming ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet — a.k.a.Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt — took a break on the set of Titanic in Mexico in 1996.
“It’s amazing and incredible to have been part of something that, you know, is so steeped in nostalgia for people and still resonates with people in the way that it does,” Winslet told Good Morning America in 2022.
“It’s a huge, huge honor that people still love something that I was a part of all those years ago.”
02 of 12 Youthful Glow Leonardo DiCaprio filming ‘Titanic’.
BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
DiCaprio was just 21 when the movie filmed.
“It became something that we could’ve never foreseen.” the actor told Deadline of the movie’s box office take and lasting legacy.”It was shocking.”
03 of 12 Float Your Boat The set of ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
A replica of the ship was propped up by scaffolding never seen by the cameras.
“It is uncanny how similar the photo of the model of the Titanic with scaffolding underneath looks like the actual liner in the shipyard in Belfast in 1911,” said auctioneer Andrew Aldridge.
04 of 12 On the Road Francis Fisher filming ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
With a dressed-up Winslet in the background, Francis Fisher — who played family matriarch Ruth Dewitt Bukater — got a quick touch-up between scenes.
05 of 12 Walk the Walk Leonardo DiCaprio filming ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
DiCaprio made his way between filming locations during a day on set.
According to EW , the majority of the film was shot in Baja California, Mexico, at Baja Studios.The soundstage has a “massive” water tank, EW reported, that has also been home to sets for Deep Blue Sea (1999) , Pearl Harbor (2001) , and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) .
06 of 12 Quiet on the Set The set of ‘Titanic’.
BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
In one photo, director James Cameron got down to business with a sunglasses-clad DiCaprio.
07 of 12 Love for Leo Leonardo DiCaprio filming ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
“There was a meeting with Leo and then there was a screen test with Leo,” Cameron recalled of the actor’s auditions in a 2022 interview.
“The meeting was funny because I am sitting in my conference room, waiting to meet an actor.And I look around, and all the women in the entire office are in the meeting.They all wanted to meet Leo.It was hysterical.”
08 of 12 Ship Has Sailed The set of ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
According to NPR , the replica of the RMS Titanic that Cameron’s crew built for the movie was 90 percent of the size of the original boat.
09 of 12 Going Glam The set of ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
Kathy Bates, who played the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, posed for a photo with a fellow castmate.
10 of 12 Major Moment Kate Winslet filming ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
Filming the opening embarkation scenes required lots of extras — but all eyes were on an impeccably styled Winslet.
11 of 12 Extras, Extras The set of ‘Titanic’.BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
Can you spot Kate?
12 of 12 Photo Finish A book of photos from the set of ‘Titanic’.
BNPS/Henry Aldridge&Son/MEGA
The Titanic photos hit the auction block on Nov.11.
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