In a revelation that has surprised fans across Canada and the globe, Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio has admitted he has never watched the film that catapulted him to global fame: Titanic. The stunning confession came during a candid conversation with fellow Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence for Variety's "Actors on Actors" series, published on Wednesday.
The Shocking Admission Between Stars
Jennifer Lawrence, DiCaprio's former co-star in Don't Look Up, posed the direct question: "Have you rewatched 'Titanic'?" DiCaprio's response was blunt. "No. I haven't seen it before," the actor stated. Lawrence, taken aback, encouraged him to give it a try, insisting, "I bet you could watch it now, it's so good." DiCaprio explained that he doesn't "really watch my films" and turned the question back on Lawrence.
Her answer was equally forthright. "No. I've never made something like 'Titanic,' if I did, I would watch it," she said. Lawrence shared a humorous anecdote about drunkenly watching her own performance in American Hustle to assess her acting skills, but couldn't recall her own conclusion.
How DiCaprio Almost Lost the Role of Jack Dawson
The iconic role of Jack Dawson, which defined a generation of cinema, almost never went to DiCaprio. Director James Cameron previously recounted a tense audition story in a 2022 interview with GQ. After an initial meeting, Cameron brought DiCaprio back, with cameras set up to film a test scene with co-star Kate Winslet.
Cameron explained that DiCaprio believed it was merely another meeting. "So I said, 'Okay, we'll just go in the next room, and we'll run some lines and I'll video it.' And he said, 'You mean, I'm reading?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Oh, I don't read.'" Cameron's response was immediate and firm: he shook DiCaprio's hand and said, "Thanks for coming by."
A stunned DiCaprio reportedly asked, "Wait, wait, wait. If I don't read, I don't get the part? Just like that?" Cameron stood his ground, emphasizing the scale of the project. "This is a giant movie that is going to take two years of my life... So, I'm not going to fuck it up by making the wrong decision in casting. So, you're going to read, or you're not going to get the part."
The Moment That Sealed Cinematic History
Faced with losing the part, DiCaprio acquiesced. Cameron described the dramatic transformation. "He comes in, and he's like every ounce of his entire being is just so negative — right up until I said, 'Action.' Then he turned into Jack," Cameron recalled. "Kate just lit up, and they played the scene. Dark clouds had opened up, and a ray of sun came down and lit up Jack. I'm like, 'All right. He's the guy.'"
That decision, forced by Cameron's insistence on a proper audition, led to one of the most successful films in history and cemented DiCaprio's status as a leading man. The irony that the actor has never seen the finished masterpiece adds a fascinating footnote to the legacy of Titanic.
