Leonardo DiCaprio has played a lot of iconic roles from Catch Me If You Can to Wolf of Wall Street. However, his most prominent role will forever remain to be in Titanic. The actor started as Jack alongside Kate Winslet in his biggest movie. It was his first movie working with James Cameron and somehow DiCaprio underestimated his role by a lot.
James Cameron revealed that it had been an entirely separate task to convince the actor as to why he should take up the role. Leonardo DiCaprio has completely refused to act as Jack and even said no to the movie which, if Cameron had not convinced him, could have been a huge mistake for the actor.
Leonardo DiCaprio Said No To Titanic Initially
Actors can often underestimate how difficult their roles can be before they begin to settle themselves as their characters. Leonardo DiCaprio was the same when it came to taking up the role of Jack in Titanic. According to James Cameron, the actor was unwilling to play the role because he believed that his role was too simple and easy to play. The actor wanted to do something that could supposedly challenge him, such as a drug addict and it took a long time to convince DiCaprio to take up the role.
“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.”
James Cameron had to go left and right in order to convince the actor to take up the role. It was understandable as to why he would believe the role was not going to be as difficult to play. However, the effort that the director put in to make sure he gets the part was commendable. Not only did he convince the studio, but he also had to make sure that DiCaprio understood how the role of Jack was far from easy.
James Cameron Knew Immediately That Leonardo DiCaprio Was His Jack
When Leonardo DiCaprio first came in for the part, he did not expect to read lines and audition and more like get the role offered to him. He even refused to read lines. This made Cameron simply reject the actor without a second thought and tell him to go back. Surprised by this, the actor agreed to run lines, and the moment he started as Jack; the director knew he found the perfect person.
His chemistry with Kate Winslet and how perfectly they both fit together made it so that no other actor could have become Jack other than DiCaprio himself. This follows with the idea that Cameron fought the studio so as to convince them to pick him for the role.
Source: People Magazine
