Billy Zane thinks Rose should have gone back to 'misunderstood' Cal in Titanic

That's right, her manipulative, possessive, abusive fiancé Cal

Billy Zane and Kate Winslet as Cal and Rose in Titanic (IMDB)

Billy Zane has shocked Titanic fans by suggesting that Rose should have stayed with his character Cal. You know, her possessive fiancé Cal, the one who psychologically abused her, slapped her round the face and tried to shoot her as she ran through the sinking ship with Jack. Everyone’s dream guy that Cal.

Zane, now 50, was appearing on Today to discuss his new TV series Guilt when talk inevitably turned to the Oscar-winning blockbuster and his bizarre alternative ending. “He was a little misunderstood! I wasn’t the iceberg. I did not drown 2,000 people,” he said in defence of Cal. “I think he found redemption by the end and I wish he had found her on the (rescue boat) Carpathia and was able to right his wrongs.”

Just in case you’ve forgotten what a nasty piece of work Cal really was, here’s a telling gif to remind you:

Earlier this year, Kate Winslet, who played Rose, finally admitted what fans have known for years: she could have saved Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) from freezing to death had she budged up to let him on the door, rather than selfishly hogging it all for herself. “I think he could have actually fit on that bit of door,” she said when quizzed about doorgate during a February appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Fans have spent decades trying to prove to director James Cameron that both Rose and Jack could have survived the shipwreck, with one couple even reenacting the scene to demonstrate the various positions the characters could have assumed. They could have played a game of cards on the door, there was that much space.

Cameron has responded to the theories before, explaining in 2012 that it wasn’t so much a question of room, but a “question of buoyancy”. “When Jack puts Rose on the raft, he tries to get on the raft - he’s not an idiot, he doesn’t want to die - and the raft sinks; it kind of flips,” he said. “It’s clear that there’s really only enough buoyancy available for one person, so he makes the decision to let her be that person.”

Titanic, which tells the tragic story of the ill-fated ship, is the second highest-grossing film of all-time behind Cameron’s 2009 fantasy 3D smash Avatar. Released in November 1997, it became the first movie to reach the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office.