Jacob Elordi’s Tearful Kate Winslet Favourite Outshines Titanic

Jacob Elordi, known for his intense roles, recently shared that the Kate Winslet film that left him in tears wasn’t the blockbuster most would guess. While James Cameron’s maritime epic still dominates pop culture, Ang Lee’s period drama has quietly edged it out in the eyes of critics. Elordi, who’s made a name for himself playing unsettling characters, told W Magazine that this particular film struck a deeply personal chord.

I watched Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility, and there’s a moment when Kate Winslet’s character has an emotional realisation. I was sitting there, eating ice cream, and then I just broke down with her character. I cried through that film, just at the hopeless beauty of us all.

Coming from an actor who’s just picked up his first Critics’ Choice Award and a Golden Globe nomination for his work in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, that admission lands with a bit more weight.

Critical Reception: Sense and Sensibility vs Titanic

Comparing the two films, Ang Lee’s 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic and Cameron’s 1997 historical romance both feature Winslet, but their legacies have taken different paths. Sense and Sensibility scored a hefty 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and 84 on Metacritic, while Titanic sits at 88% and 75, respectively. Titanic did snag an A+ from CinemaScore, but Lee’s film wasn’t far behind with an A. Where Titanic is remembered for its box office records, Sense and Sensibility is often cited as one of the finest Austen adaptations ever made.

Elordi’s appreciation for Winslet’s subtlety in the film highlights why it’s still held in such high regard. Released two years before Titanic, it’s praised for its writing, performances, and emotional honesty, rather than spectacle or scale.

Inside Sense and Sensibility: Story, Cast, and Impact

Set in 19th-century England, the story follows sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood as they deal with financial hardship and the strict social codes of their time after their father’s death. Emma Thompson’s Elinor is all composure and restraint, while Winslet’s Marianne is open-hearted and impulsive. The cast, including Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, delivers performances that avoid melodrama. Winslet’s portrayal of Marianne is especially raw, never asking for pity, which is likely why the film still resonates with viewers of all ages.

Behind the camera, Thompson spent five years adapting Austen’s novel, managing to keep the wit and spirit intact. Ang Lee, who wasn’t familiar with Austen before, approached the story as a look at social pressure versus personal freedom. The result was a film that appealed to both Austen fans and newcomers, earning seven Oscar nominations and a win for Best Adapted Screenplay. It also kicked off a renewed interest in Austen’s work worldwide.

What’s kept the film relevant isn’t just the awards, but its respect for emotional nuance. It gives its characters space to feel, and trusts the audience to pick up on what’s left unsaid. That’s the sort of thing that still gets to actors like Elordi, even decades later.

Elordi’s Frankenstein Win and What’s Next

Elordi’s career has been on a steady climb. At the 2026 Critics’ Choice Awards in Santa Monica, he took home Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. It was his first major win, and he seemed genuinely surprised, saying,

Bloody hell. I really didn’t plan for it.

He also thanked del Toro, adding,

Thank you, Guillermo del Toro. I love you. We all love you. You made my dreams when I was 11. I’m so happy to be here.

For the role, Elordi underwent a full transformation, both physically and mentally. Covered in prosthetics and using butoh, a Japanese dance technique, he created a character defined by rejection and longing. The Creature starts as Victor Frankenstein’s prized experiment, played by Oscar Isaac, but is quickly abandoned. As the story unfolds, the Creature’s curiosity turns to anger after repeated cruelty from others. Elordi has said the role became deeply personal for him,

It was a vessel that I could put every part of myself into. From the moment that I was born to being here with you today, all of it is in that character. And in so many ways, the creature that’s on screen in this film is the sort of purest form of myself. He’s more me than I am.

With a Golden Globe nomination and Oscar buzz building, Elordi’s future in the industry looks set for the long haul. Whether this signals a shift towards valuing emotional depth over spectacle remains to be seen, but for now, it’s clear that films with heart still have a place with both critics and punters.