Their epic love was giddy, passionate, unshakable – until the ship hit the iceberg and sank.

The stars of Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, share a far different love story in Revolutionary Road, playing a couple whose marriage comes undone as they seek meaning amid the stifling conformity of the 1950s.

Good pals in real life, DiCaprio and Winslet had some awkward moments in their love scenes: her husband, Revolutionary Road director Sam Mendes, was looking on and giving them pointers.

How weird was it?

“I just kept saying, ‘This is too … weird,'” Winslet tells Entertainment Weekly magazine. “And Leo was like, ‘Oh, get over it.’ And I’m going, ‘Yeah, a little reminder: You’re my best friend. He’s my husband. This is a bit weird.'”

Mendes, who directed American Beauty says, “I will admit it was quite bizarre to direct my wife in how to make love. But it’s difficult whether you’re married to the person or not.”

And for DiCaprio? “No more than any other situation like that,” DiCaprio said. “Doing those type of scenes is always a bit strange, never mind a husband but an entire crew watching you.”

It’s been 11 years since Winslet and DiCaprio co-starred in the Oscar-winning blockbuster Titanic, and Winslet says a spark remains between them.

“I hadn’t realized how much my chemistry with him since Titanic would still stick,” says the 32-year-old actress. “It’s great to discover we can just slip right into it, like muscle memory.”

They play suburban couple Frank and April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road, based on Richard Yates’ 1961 novel. It is slated for release in December, just in time for Oscar consideration.

“We knew that if we were going to do something again, it had to be something big and emotional,” Winslet says. “Revolutionary Road is so painful and beautiful to read, simply because of the brutality of the honesty that Frank and April end up experiencing together.”

Winslet was eager to bring DiCaprio on board, and set up a sneaky way to do it: She arranged a meeting with the 33-year-old actor in March 2007, but sent Mendes in her place.

“Leo and I have such a history together, and I couldn’t imagine not being able to apply that to this story and these characters,” she says. “So I played this very clever cat-and-mouse game to get my husband and then my best friend involved.”

Source: Otago Daily Times Online