James Cameron almost didn’t cast Leonardo DiCaprio to play Jack Dawson in ‘Titanic’, saying the actor came to the audition with a diva attitude.
The film’s director recalled meeting DiCaprio before the landmark 1997 film in an interview with GQ published Tuesday, noting that Kate Winslet had already been cast as Rose DeWitt Bukater.
“So Leo came in – of course, charmed everyone, including me,” said Cameron, 68. “And I said, ‘Okay, let’s see how your chemistry is going with Kate. “”
According to the filmmaker, DiCaprio – who was 22 when the film hit theaters – thought it meant “another meeting to meet Kate”. But in fact, Cameron had called him to record the two lines of reading together.
“And he said, ‘You mean I read?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, “Oh, I’m not reading,” Cameron said, adding that his response was to shake the 41-year-old actor’s hand and thank him “for coming.”
“He said, ‘Wait, wait, wait. You mean if I don’t read, I don’t get the part? Just like that? “, continued the director.
“And I said, ‘Oh, yeah. Go on. It’s, like, a giant movie that’s going to take two years of my life… so I’m not going to ruin it by making the wrong casting decision. So you’re going to read, or you won’t get the part.'”
According to Cameron, DiCaprio huffed and huffed but agreed to read with Winslet — reluctantly.
“Every ounce of his whole being [was] so negative,” the filmmaker recalls, “until I said, ‘Action!’
Cameron said DiCaprio immediately “transformed into Jack.”
“Kate just turned on, and they got into all this, and he played the scene,” he explained. “Dark clouds had opened up, and this sunbeam came down and lit up Jack. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s the guy.’ »
“Titanic” won 11 of the 14 Oscars it was nominated for and secured DiCaprio’s place among the most influential actors of the century.
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