How to lose a role in 10 seconds.
Matthew McConaughey was in contention for the role of Jack Dawson in James Cameron‘s 1997 blockbuster Titanic, but the role ended up going to Leonardo DiCaprio after he refused to acquiesce to the director’s demands.
In Jon Landau‘s upcoming posthumous memoir The Bigger Picture, the producer claims that the Interstellar actor was a front-runner for the film’s male lead and even did a chemistry read with Kate Winslet, who “was taken with Matthew, his presence and charm.”
“Matthew did the scene with the drawl,” Jon recalled, per an excerpt published in Matthew Belloni‘s What I’m Hearing newsletter August 5, which left James asking him to do it again without his Texas accent, saying, “That’s great. today let’s try it a different way.”
According to Landau, the future Oscar winner wasn’t interested in swapping out his twang, telling the director, “No. That as pretty good. Thanks.”
As Cameron’s longtime producer, who died in 2024 after a battle with cancer, summarized, “Let’s just say, that was it for McConaughey.”
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