Actor Billy Zane, who essayed the role of Cal Hockley in "Titanic", says Leonardo DiCaprio's character Jack had to die the blockbuster film.

The James Cameron 1997 directorial has caused debates over the years over the fact that Jack perished in the icy water while actress Kate Winslet's character Rose DeWitt Bukater stayed safe on a floating wooden door at the end of the movie.

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"Your hero had to die. I don't know what else would have done it. It had to happen," Zane told people.com.

Earlier, Cameron had insisted that he made an "artistic choice" to kill off Jack.

"Obviously it was an artistic choice, the thing was just big enough to hold her, and not big enough to hold him ... I think it's all kind of silly, really, that we are having this discussion 20 years later.

"But it does show that the film was effective in making Jack so endearing to the audience that it hurts them to see him die. Had he lived, the ending of the film would have been meaningless," said Cameron.