Leonardo DiCaprio nearly missed his role in Titanic after refusing to screen test with co-star Kate Winslet.
James Cameron, who directed the 1997 disaster film, recalled DiCaprio’s audition for the role of Jack Dawson in an interview with GQ.
“I remember there was a meeting with Leo and then a screen test with Leo,” Cameron said. “So the meeting was fun because I’m sitting in my conference room waiting to meet an actor, right? And I’m looking around and all the women throughout the office are in the meeting for some reason. Like there’s an executive producer, ok, fine. But our accountant? Why was she in the meeting? They all just wanted to meet Leo, it was hysterical.”
The director explained that after Leo “charmed everyone” at the meeting, he was asked back for a screen test with Winslet, who played Rose.
Cameron added: “So he came back a few days later and I had the camera set up to take the video. He didn’t know he was going to test. He thought it would be another meeting to get to know Kate. So I said, ‘Okay, we’ll just go into the next room and we’ll do a few lines and I’ll video it.’ And he said, “You mean I read?” I said yes”. He said, ‘Oh, I don’t read.’
“And I said, ‘Well,’ and I shook his hand. I said, ‘Well, thanks for stopping by.’ And he said, ‘Wait, wait, wait, do you mean if I don’t read I won’t get the part, just like that?’ And I said, ‘Oh yeah, come on. This is like a huge movie, it’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 mess it up by making the wrong decision in casting. So, you’re going to read or you’re not going to get the part.’”
DiCaprio continued with the screen test, and while Cameron was initially “negative,” he was impressed by his sudden transformation into Jack.
“So [DiCaprio] walks in and he says every ounce of his entire being is just so negative,” Cameron said. “Until I said ‘Action,’ and then he turned into Jack. And Kate just lit up and they went into this whole thing. Dark clouds had opened up and a ray of sunshine came down and illuminated Jack.”
Cameron explained DiCaprio later returned to directing after convincing the studio to hire him, where he suggested making changes to Jack’s character so that he had “some ailments” or a “traumatic thing from the past.”
“I said, ‘Look, you played all these great characters who all have a problem, whether it’s addiction or whatever.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to learn how to stay centered and not have all that stuff. That’s not Richard III.’” Cameron recalled.
“‘If you can do what you know Jimmy Stewart or Gregory Peck did, they just stood there. You haven’t hobbled or lisped or whatever, then you’re ready for it. But I guess you’re not ready yet, because what I’m talking about is actually much more difficult. These things are easier, these are props, these are crutches. What I’m talking about is a lot harder and you’re probably not quite ready for it.”
“The second I said it clicked [DiCaprio] that this was a really tough, challenging film for him. And I realized my mistake, I hadn’t adequately set out the challenge for him.”
Cameron is currently promoting Avatar: The Way Of Water, the sequel to 2009’s Avatar. The film is slated to hit theaters on December 16th.