1997's Titanic is one of those epic love-stories-marred-by-disaster that you can't look away from, nearly three decades later. It's record-breaking night at the 70th Academy Awards, box office receipts, and the staying power of its lead stars say it all.
But as it turns out, one of its central leads was initially not even considered for the part, with Leonardo DiCaprio's role as the boyishly charming Jack Dawson was almost in the hands of another star.
© Getty ImagesPer an upcoming memoir by Titanic producer Jon Landau, in an excerpt shared by Matthew Belloni's What I'm Hearing newsletter, Matthew McConaughey was one of the original contenders to bring Jack to life.
At that point, Matthew was already an established star thanks to projects like Dazed and Confused and A Time to Kill. He was also heavily in contention for the part, as the book depicts his co-star Kate Winslet as being "taken with Matthew, his presence and charm."
However, as it turns out, it was his Southern drawl that turned director James Cameron off. "That's great, now let's try it a different way," he told Matthew per the book, to which he responded: "No. That was pretty good. Thanks," with the producer then quipping: "Let's just say, that was it for McConaughey."
At the time, reports suggested that Matthew was the most prominent figure in contention for the part, with other stars like Chris O'Donnell, Billy Crudup and Stephen Dorff also considered, although the director eventually felt many of them felt too old to play Jack Dawson (for context, Matthew was in his late 20s at the time of casting, Leonardo was 21).
© Getty ImagesLeonardo was already an established actor by that point too, even boasting an Oscar nod as a teen for his turn in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Others in contention were Tom Cruise (who reportedly had too high an asking price) and Jared Leto (who apparently didn't want to audition).
The young Leonardo eventually got the part opposite Kate, with the two remaining close friends to this day. The film was a cultural juggernaut, winning 11 Oscars from a whopping 17 nominations. It also now boasts a box office total of $2.2 billion, becoming the highest grossing film of all time upon release and now in fourth place.
© Getty ImagesMatthew eventually ended up with a cushy career of his own, though, eventually winning an Oscar himself for Best Actor for his performance in 2013's Dallas Buyers Club (alongside his co-star and fellow Jack-hopeful Jared Leto).
He's addressed the Titanic casting story in the past as well, telling Rob Lowe on his Literally! podcast: "So I went and read with Kate Winslet, and it was not one of the auditions – they filmed it so it was like into screen test time."
© Getty Images"After we left, you know, it was one of those ones where they, like, followed me, and when we got outside, they were like, 'That went great.' I mean, kind of, like, hugs. I really thought it was going to happen. It did not."
