14 Hollywood Stars That Could Have Appeared In The Titanic Movie's Cast

When famous, talented director James Cameron took the first step in making the Titanic movie, he never thought it would be one of the greatest romantic blockbusters of all time and harvest 11 Oscars to its name and over $2 billion grossed worldwide. After decades, the touching short-life love story of a fictional couple of passengers on the legendary ship Titanic still never fails to make the audience burst into tears.
Even though director Cameron didn't aim for awards and glory at first, he didn't intend to set the bar low. According to all the people taking part in the movie-making process, including actors and crew members, he was extremely strict. Every detail had to be perfect unless the actors and staff wanted to redo the work a thousand times until it pleased the rigorous director.
To be fair, director Cameron had lots of difficulties in making his movie a masterpiece. One of his very first hard things to solve is casting. It was so important that only one small mistake could sink the whole gigantic ship. Because many Hollywood superstars wanted to star in the movie and came to the audition, the result could have been very different if some had not missed their chances. Let's check out several casting options that could have been picked!

#1. Matthew McConaughey as Jack Dawson (and Cal Hockley)

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In addition to being sought for the role of Jack Dawson, Matthew McConaughey was also considered for the villainous Cal Hockley. Hence, he was confident that he would be in the movie’s cast, but it turned out he wasn’t.

#2. Christian Bale as Jack Dawson

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He was the biggest competitor of Leonardo DiCaprio at the time. However, because of his British accent, Cameron turned him down. Thus, he seemed to hold a grudge against DiCaprio for quite a long time.

#3. Johnny Depp as Jack Dawson

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He was sent the script with an invitation to the audition, but he thought it was boring and turned the role down himself. At that point, he also missed many roles that became iconic later.

#4. Paul Rudd as Jack Dawson

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Paul Rudd's father is a member of the Titanic Historical Society so he wanted the role for one very specific and wholesome reason: he wanted to honor his father, but the moviemakers said he wasn’t the right fit.

#5. Winona Ryder as Rose Bukater

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Wynona Ryder was one of the first names the producers called for the role of Rose. She would have been chosen if Kate Winslet hadn’t risked everything she had to take the role.

#6. Uma Thurman as Rose Bukater

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Kate Winslet also mentioned that Uma Thurman was also being considered a possible candidate for the part of Rose Bukater.

#7. Claire Danes as Rose Bukater

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Danes turned down the role of Rose Bukater because she didn't want to make another romantic melodrama with DiCaprio after Romeo + Juliet. She ultimately doesn't regret it.

#8. Gwyneth Paltrow as Rose Bukater

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The actress claimed that she was "really in contention" for Rose and believed she was "one of the last two" actresses up for it, but she didn't explain the reason why she opted not to play Rose.

#9. Michael Biehn as Cal Hockley

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Biehn was in the running to play Cal Hockley, in the role Billy Zane eventually took, and there might've even been a meeting about it, but it didn't pan out for Biehn.

#10. Rob Lowe as Cal Hockley

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The actor suggested that his infamous sex tape might've possibly had an impact on the audition, though there wasn't a direct reason given for why he wasn't cast in the part.

#11. Reba McEntire as Molly Brown

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 Although she was previously set to star as Molly Brown, the production timeline kept getting delayed and interfered with her touring schedule, so she opted to turn down the part and focus on her music.

#12. Robert De Niro as Captain Smith

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De Niro was offered to play this part, but he had to turn it down due to a gastrointestinal infection at the time.

#13. Lindsay Lohan as Cora Cartmell

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The director was afraid that the actress’s red hair would confuse audiences into thinking she was related to the characters Ruth and Rose, who were also redheads. The role ultimately went to Alexandria Owens.

#14. Fay Wray as Elder Rose

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Cameron thought of her first when he was searching for a cast for the role of elder Rose. However, Gloria Stuart was the rightest one, in his opinion.
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