Leonardo DiCaprio almost didn’t do Titanic! Director James Cameron had to ‘twist’ actor’s arm to star in film: ‘He found it boring’
James Cameron had to ‘twist’ Leonardo DiCaprio’s arm to get him to star in Titanic.
The 68-year-old director helmed the 1997 blockbuster starring DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, but revealed he had to persuade the former to appear in the film – which turned out to be a monumental success – as he felt the script “would boring’.
“He didn’t want to do a leading man,” James told People magazine. “I really had to twist his arm to be in the movie. He didn’t want to do it. He found it boring. (He) only accepted the role after I convinced him that it was actually a different challenge.’
Facts: James Cameron had to “twist” Leonardo DiCaprio’s arm to get him to star in Titanic. The 68-year-old director helmed the 1997 blockbuster starring DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, but revealed he had to persuade the former to appear in the film – which turned out to be a monumental success – as he felt the script “would boring’.
Titanic remains one of the highest-grossing films ever made and Cameron recently claimed he “can’t imagine” the film without its two leads.
The Avatar leader said: “I’m thinking about 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 do the film. Then I had to persuade him to do it.”
Leo was wary: “He didn’t want to star,” James told People magazine. “I really had to twist his arm to be in the movie. He didn’t want to do it. He found it boring. (He) only accepted the role after I convinced him that it was actually a different challenge.
Iconic scene: The Avatar helmsman said: “I’m thinking about 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 do the film. So I had to persuade him’
James continued, “Think in each of those places it would have been someone else and it wouldn’t have been this movie if that really sort of diverged. And I can’t imagine this film without him and without her.”
Cameron recently revealed that DiCaprio nearly lost the audition role due to poor attitude in a screen test with Winslet.
The filmmaker said, “I shook his hand and said, ‘Thanks for stopping by.’ And he said, ‘Wait, wait, wait. If I don’t read, won’t I get the part? Just like that?’
Still madly in love: Cameron seen with his Titanic star Suzy Amis at the hand and footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on Thursday
“And I said, ‘Oh yeah. Come on. This is a huge film that’s going to take two years of my life, and you’re going to do five other things while I do post-production. So, I’m not going to screw it up by making the wrong decision in casting.
James also told Leo that he would read or he wouldn’t get the part.
The film is back in theaters on February 10th to celebrate its 25th anniversary and there is a new poster to promote it.
A New Look: The film is coming back to theaters on February 10 for its 25th anniversary and there’s a new poster promoting it