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Billy Zane says he was not present during the infamous PCP incident on the Titanic<\/em> set in 1996<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Around 80 cast and crew members, including James Cameron and Bill Paxton, were hospitalized after unknowingly ingesting tainted chowder<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Gloria Stewart were unaffected as they were not filming or didn\u2019t eat the chowder<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Billy Zane<\/a> is opening up about a mysterious incident on the set of the epic 1997 film Titanic<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>in which a number of cast and crew members were sickened after unknowingly ingesting PCP.<\/p>\n Speaking on the Friday, July 17 episode of the Brotherly Love<\/em><\/a> podcast, Zane, 60, said that he \u201cwasn\u2019t there\u201d when the incident took place, but did acknowledge that it happened when the \u201cmodern day portion\u201d of the film was being shot.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t remember if it was oatmeal or if it was some clam chowder, but it was, yeah,\u201d Zane said. \u201cAnd those who were fortunate enough to have recognized, you know, early stages of coming on to hallucinogens were like, \u2018Okay, we\u2019re going to ride this one out.\u2019 Those who didn\u2019t were pretty terrified. Um, as I heard.\u201d<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE\u2019s <\/strong>free daily newsletter<\/strong><\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n James Cameron on the set of Titanic (1997)Credit: Merie W. Wallace\/Paramount<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Earlier reports<\/a> have noted that some 80 members of the film cast and crew were sickened and hospitalized as a result of ingesting the PCP, including director James Cameron<\/a> and late actor Bill Paxton.<\/p>\n As Vanity Fair<\/em> reported in a retrospective, the PCP incident took place on Aug. 8, 1996 \u2014 what was meant to be the final night of filming in Nova Scotia \u2014 and Cameron felt \u201csuddenly and very distinctly woozy.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking to Entertainment Weekly<\/em><\/a> in 1996, Paxton recounted, \u201cSome people were laughing, some people were crying, some people were throwing up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne minute I felt O.K., the next minute I felt so godd— anxious I wanted to breathe in a paper bag,\u201d the actor, who died on Feb. 25, 2017, at 61 years old<\/a>, added. \u201cCameron was feeling the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the dozens of cast and crew members arrived at a nearby hospital, the scene unraveled even further, with set decorator Marilyn McAvoy describing to Vice<\/em><\/a>: \u201cEventually we all got put in these cubicles with the curtains around us, but no one wanted to stay in their cubicles. Everyone was out in the aisles and jumping into other people\u2019s cubicles. People had a lot of energy. Some were in wheelchairs, flying down the hallways. I mean, everyone was high!\u201d<\/p>\n Added Cameron of the scene: \u201cPeople are moaning and crying, wailing, collapsed on tables and gurneys. The D.P., Caleb Deschanel, is leading a number of crew down the hall in a highly vocal conga line. You can\u2019t make this stuff up.\u201d<\/p>\n As Zane joked on the podcast, \u201cIt\u2019s the true secret to the success of the film, really.\u201d<\/p>\n The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The film\u2019s stars \u2014 Kate Winslet<\/a> and Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a> \u2014 were not filming that day and reportedly unaffected by the PCP. Zane said Gloria Stewart, who also starred in the film, was also unaffected, as she did not eat the tainted chowder in question.<\/p>\n