James Cameron’s epic romance/drama was released over 20 years ago, and yet the take Titanic has on its audience? Absolutely relentless.
Rose and Jack’s epic love has brought thousands of people to tears uncontrollably and is guaranteed to bring tears to your eyes even if you put on the movie today. But it wasn’t just the chemistry they portrayed on screen, it was also mostly because of the charm Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio held in real life. And that’s the very reason James Cameron was able to choose his star cast without hesitation, with complete faith that both actors would do their respective characters justice.
In fact, the Canadian filmmaker was so impressed by The ghost actor, that he immediately decided to cast him in Titanic right after his very first screen test. Not that shocking, given Leo’s incredible acting skills and ubiquitous charisma.
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James Cameron talks about Leonardo DiCaprio and his charm
Talk to QG, Avatar director James Cameron recalled his experience while filming one of his highest-grossing films of all time, Titanicand how he came to choose his star cast.
After casting Kate Winslet for the role of Rose DeWitt Bukater, Cameron went ahead with giving Leonardo DiCaprio a chance to play the character of young entertainer Jack Dawson and claimed he instantly took a liking to it. him, in addition to all the women in the office, of course, who were literally fainting in front of him. The aliens director vividly remembers how when he met DiCaprio, the female office staff crowded around the conference room, all eagerly awaiting the shutter island star to honor their presence.
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“I remember there was a meeting with Leo and then there was a screen test with Leo. So the meeting was funny, because I’m sitting in my conference room, waiting to meet an actor , right? And I look around and all the women in the whole office are in the meeting for some reason. Like there’s an executive producer, okay, okay. But our accountant? Why was she at the meeting? They all just wanted to meet Leo, it was hysterical. I looked around and thought, ‘I think I already know the answer to the question here. “
Even Cameron understands what all the hype is about as he admitted the Oscar-winning actor also managed to charm him.
James Cameron knew Leonardo DiCaprio was the perfect person to play Jack Dawson
Following his meeting with The Terminator director, DiCaprio was just one screen test away from solidifying his role as Jack Dawson in Titanic. But he was under the impression that Cameron had set up another meeting, this time with his co-star, Winslet, the intrigue being that DiCaprio didn’t really know he was going to take a screen test that day. And yet, he landed the role without any obstacles.
“So Leo came in, of course, charmed everyone, myself included, and I said, ‘Okay, well, let’s see what your chemistry is like with Kate. So he arrives a few days later and I set up the camera to record the video. He didn’t know he was going to test. He walked in, he thought it was another meeting to meet Kate.
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When Cameron asked the Creation actor at “run a few lines” and play a scene from the script, the latter initially refused, claiming that he “does not read” something that was a dealbreaker for the abyss filmmaker because he wanted to be absolutely sure that he was not making any mistakes. So DiCaprio finally nodded, almost reluctantly, thus introducing himself as “negative” to Cameron. But everything changed the moment he said “Stock,” and Cameron immediately realized he had made the best choice when he decided to launch Gatsby the magnificent star.
“So he walks in and he thinks every ounce of his whole being is so negative, until I said ‘Action’ and then he turned into Jack. And Kate just turned on and they walked in into all of this and he played the scene. Dark clouds had parted and a shaft of sunlight came down and lit up Jack. I was like, ‘Okay, that’s the guy.’
Lo and behold, we had one of the most beautifully heartbreaking films to ever exist in the history of cinema.
Source: QG
