Where Titanic stars are now – ‘wrongful death’ to James Cameron ‘affair’ & unrecognisable child star who quit showbiz
ITS release in 1997 was far from a shipwreck – Titanic sailed into the record books with 11 Oscars and a box office haul of £2.2billion.
Now, 25 years on, the sad death of David Warner – who played Spicer Lovejoy, the valet to Billy Zane’s Carl Hockley – has been announced.
The British actor, who also starred in The Omen and Mary Poppins Returns, passed away from a cancer-related illness at the age of 80.
The epic movie, directed by James Cameron, starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as secret lovers on the doomed liner.
Kate – who was nominated for a Best Actress gong for playing Rose – went on to star in a string of highly acclaimed movies including The Holiday, Iris and The Reader, which won her an Oscar in 2008.
Leo is also now a huge Hollywood name, having starred in blockbusters including Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Departed.
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In 2017, he bagged his first Best Actor Oscar for The Revenant.
But what about the rest of the Titanic cast?
From the child star who turned his back on acting to a sudden tragic death and an on-set affair with the director, here’s what happened after they sailed into the horizon.
Suzy Amis – Lizzy Calvert
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Suzy played Rose’s great-granddaughter Lizzy in the latter day scenes, but it was to be one of her last acting roles.
She quit the business after three more stints in TV movies.
But Titanic did change her fortunes for the better in another way – she met future husband, director James Cameron on set.
Cameron had only just wed fourth wife Linda Hamilton when the pair met, and the rumoured affair with Suzy resulted in the break-up of the marriage and a £42million settlement.
Suzy, already mum to son Jasper from her first marriage, tied the knot with the director in 2000. They have three daughters, Claire, Quinn and Elizabeth.
The couple, who adopted a plant-based diet in 2012 after watching the documentary Forks Over Knives, live on an organic farm in Hollister Ranch.
Suzy is now a prominent activist for environmental issues, including sustainable fashion and vegan diets.
Reece Thompson – Irish boy
Reece was a child model of five when he was given the option of a small role in Titanic or a petrol advert.
But the role of ‘Irish little boy’ proved lucrative, earning him £30,000 at the time and royalty cheques since.
His small but unforgettable scene, which sees the boy, his mother and sister lying down on their bed to die as the third class doors remain locked, was among the most tragic in the movie.
Reece has turned his back on showbiz, and now works as a digital marketing director at Brian Head Resort, a skiing resort in Utah.
He still gets the occasional royalty payment through the post; he told Business Insider: “It’s weird because it’s not present in my mind anymore. It’s not like, ‘Oh, when am I going to get a new Titanic cheque?’ When it happens, it’s like, ‘Oh, cool, an extra $100.
“It’s pretty bizarre. But hopefully they keep playing it a lot because that means more money for me.”
Alexandrea Owens-Sarno – Cora
Alexandrea was eight when she played Leonardo DiCaprio’s “best girl” Cora – who dances on his feet at the below deck party – and says she landed the part by accident.
She told Cosmopolitan she stumbled into the role when her mum took her and her little sister to the auditions.
Her sobbing sibling was picked out of the crowd to audition for the part of the “crying girl” and a casting agent asked Alexandrea if she would be interested in another role.
“A couple of weeks later, my mum had a message on the machine saying I had got the part,” she says. “I remember crying, screaming, running around the house, like a little maniac.”
She told how Leo kept her amused on set by drawing on his sketchbook and feeding her peanut butter and jam sarnies.
She recalled: “I was thinking, ‘This is my new best friend Leo, and he’s so cool.’
“In between scenes, we would hang out, and Kate would come up and talk to us too — she was obsessed with my sister’s hair, so she was always playing with it.”
Now 33, Alexandrea is still acting and has recently gone behind the camera to produce a short film, Lanes, about three cyclists who seek revenge when a pal is killed in a hit and run.
Danny Nucci – Fabrizio De Rossi
The Austrian-born actor, who has a French Moroccan mum and an Italian dad, played Jack’s pal Fabrizio in the movie.
The Italian character perishes in the waves – and poor old Danny was also killed off in two more films that year, Eraser and The Rock.
The actor was married to Terre Brigham, the mother of his oldest daughter, when he starred in Titanic, but a year later they divorced, after he met second wife Paula Marshall on the set of the 1997 movie That Old Feeling.
They married in 2003, and share a daughter.
Since Titanic, Danny has starred in various movies including Friends and Lovers with Robert Downey Jr, as well as TV shows including The Rookie.
His most recent role was US politician Mario Biaggi in the mini-series The Offer, which premiered in April.
Kathy Bates – Molly Brown
Kathy was already an Oscar winner, after bagging a Best Actress gong for the 1991 movie Misery, when she played the ‘unsinkable’ Molly Brown.
She went on to star in Midnight in Paris, About Schmidt and Revolutionary Road, which reunited her with Titanic co-stars Leo and Kate.
Over the past few years she has also moved into television, starring in shows like Harry’s Law, American Horror Story and Feud.
Kathy, now 74, has had her fair share of health battles, being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003, and breast cancer in 2012, which resulted in a double mastectomy.
Bill Paxton – Brock Lovett
Bill Paxton was well-known by the time he appeared in Titanic, due to his roles in blockbusters like Aliens, Terminator, Twister and Apollo 13.
He played treasure hunter Brock and accompanied Cameron on his 2003 dive to the real shipwreck of the Titanic for the documentary Ghost of the Abyss.
Bill’s other movie credits include Mighty Joe Young and Edge of Tomorrow, and he also starred in the HBO series Big Love, about a polygamist family in Utah, for five seasons.
Twice-married Bill met his second wife, British student Louise Newberry, on a number 13 London bus and instantly fell for her.
They had two children – James, now 28, and Lydia, 25.
Tragically, the highly respected actor died after complications from heart surgery on Feb 2017, aged 61.
His family sued the operating surgeon for “wrongful death”, alleging he used “high-risk and unconventional” methods, and that he was not present in the operating theatre when Bill took a turn which led to a second operation and ultimately the actor’s death.
They settled the case earlier this year for £830,000.
Billy Zane – Caledon Hockley
American actor Billy was already known for his role in The Phantom in the 1996 movie of the same name when he played Rose’s rich, stuck-up fiancé in Titanic.
He went on to star in the critically acclaimed 2001 movie The Believer, opposite Ryan Gosling, and played Billy Flynn in the Broadway production of Chicago.
More recently he has starred in TV shows like MacGruber and Curfew.
Billy has four films in the pipeline, including Waltzing With Brando, in which he plays Godfather legend Marlon Brando.
Like his Titanic character, Billy is no stranger to doomed engagements.
Married to Lisa Collins for six years until 1995, he has also been engaged to Chilean actress Leonor Varela and Brit star Kelly Brook – who broke it off suddenly – and dated Croatian model Jasmina Hdagha.
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He’s currently engaged to American model Candice Neil and they share two daughters – Ava Catherine, 11, and Gia, eight.
As well as acting, Billy is an abstract artist and has had numerous art exhibitions.