James Cameron reveals how Leonardo DiCaprio almost lost ‘Titanic’ role
James Cameron and Leonardo DiCaprio made history by working together on Titanic, one of the highest-grossing cinematic projects of all time. While DiCaprio has become synonymous with his iconic role in the 1997 film, Cameron recently revealed that the actor was almost rejected during the casting process.
During a recent conversation with GQ, Cameron recalled details about the day DiCaprio came in for his audition. According to the director, “all the women in the entire office” were also present during their meeting because they couldn’t wait to see DiCaprio in action.
After an initial screen test, DiCaprio was asked to read for the part again, but he responded: “Oh, I don’t read.” However, Cameron was firm and thanked him for stopping by. Eventually, DiCaprio returned and attempted to make changes to the character, but the director shut it down.
Cameron told him: “When you can do what you know Jimmy Stewart did or Gregory Peck did, they just fucking stood there. They didn’t have a limp or a lisp or whatever, then you’ll be ready for this. But I’m thinking you’re not ready, cause what I’m talking about is actually much harder. Those things are easier, those are props, those are crutches. What I’m talking about is much harder and you’re probably not quite ready for it.”
According to the filmmaker, that speech made DiCaprio understand the project. Cameron added: “The second I said that it clicked for [DiCaprio] that this was a really hard, challenging film for him. And I realised my mistake, I hadn’t laid out the challenge for him sufficiently.”
Watch the interview below.
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