Was Leonardo DiCaprio not the first choice for Jack in Titanic?(Photo Credit –Facebook)
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James Cameron’s epic disaster film Titanic was released in 1997, and the film became the highest-grossing movie then. Until now, only three films, namely ‘Avatar’, ‘Avengers: Endgame’, and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, are ahead of Titanic in terms of the global box office figures.
Before Leonardo DiCaprio was finally cast in the lead role of Jack, James Cameron’s first choice was another young and talented actor. Any wild guesses? Read on to know the actor’s name.
James Cameron Wanted This Actor To Play Jack Dawson in Titanic
As per a report by Cinema Blend, Titanic director James Cameron wanted to cast River Phoenix for the coveted role. Unfortunately, the casting could not happen because of the actor’s sudden death when he was just 23 years old. This happened before James Cameron could even approach the actor to offer him the role.
River Phoenix, the elder brother of popular Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, Joker), starred in several films, including Rob Reiner’s ‘Stand By Me’, Peter Weir’s ‘The Mosquito Coast’, followed by Sidney Lumet’s ‘Running On Empty’ for which he for an Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Other Popular Actors Who Were in Contention to Play Jack Dawson
Before Leonardo DiCaprio was finally cast in the Titanic, several other actors were also being considered to play the lead role of Jack Dawson. The list includes some big names such as Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Paul Rudd, and Johnny Depp. But since every film has its destiny, Leonardo DiCaprio eventually got the lead role, and the Oscar-winning actor simply nailed it.
Titanic Plot & Cast
The film’s underlying plot follows a poor, struggling artist, Jack Dawson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who meets a beautiful, young woman, Rose (played by Kate Winslet), who is trapped in a loveless engagement with an affluent man (played by Billy Zane). The two people meet during RMS Titanic’s first and final voyage and fall in love despite coming from dramatically different backgrounds.
But the couple’s newfound bond faces a tragic test when the Titanic strikes an iceberg, leading to a desperate fight for survival amid the chaos of the sinking ship.
Directed by visionary filmmaker James Cameron, the film also features Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bill Paxton, and David Warner in interesting roles.
Titanic Critical and Audience Feedback
Titanic received rave reviews from critics across the globe and became an instant superhit among moviegoers. It has a critics’ score of 88% on reviews aggregation portal Rotten Tomatoes and a user rating of 7.9/10 on IMDb. Out of fourteen Oscar nominations, Titanic swept a whopping eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Visual Effects.
Titanic Trailer
You can watch the official trailer of Titanic here.
