James Cameron reveals why Leonardo Dicaprio initially rejected classic blockbuster ‘Titanic’

The Hollywood film Titanic is an absolute cult classic that created history at the box office. The blockbuster movie’s director James Cameron recently spilled the beans about his casting process for the film. James has a knack for spotting amazing actors for the roles in his movies. However, if Leo wouldn’t come through, there were no dearth of world-class actors for him. To be Jack Dawson in Titanic, Johnny Depp, and Matthew McConaughey among others were also in the race. Well, Johnny rejected it because of the long script and finally, Leo came through creating history.

In an interview with People at the Golden Globes 2023, Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron revealed Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t want to become the leading man in his Titanic. He said, “He didn’t want to do a leading man. I had to really twist his arm to be in the movie. He didn’t want to do it. He thought it was boring. It didn’t surprise me, first of all, that he’s made a lot of authentic choices going forward. And secondly, I never doubted his talent.”

Going further in the conversation, James explained how he had to fight for him and convince him to do the role. He even shared that he cannot imagine Titanic without Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. He said, “I think about that casting Leonardo and Kate in Titanic. Leo, the studio didn’t want him; I had to fight for him. Kate really liked him and then Leonardo decided he didn’t want to make the movie. So then I had to talk him into it. You think at any one of those places, if that had really kind of frayed apart, it would have been somebody else and it wouldn’t have been that film. I can’t imagine that film without him and without her.”

Well, Titanic is in its 25th year and the movie’s re-release is doing rounds all over the news and the internet. Kate and Leonardo’s on-screen chemistry is something we all look forward to in our subconscious minds.