Matthew McConaughey Lost Titanic Role Over His Accent
While Kate Winslet bagged the part of Rose pretty early on, James Cameron has said that finding the perfect Jack for his 1997 blockbuster was more of a struggle. On their casting search, the director met with stars like Billy Crudup, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Ethan Hawke, and Matthew McConaughey, all of whom went on to have successful careers despite missing out.
Some of the men on that list have since expressed relief that they didn't get cast in the movie, which, as we now know, exposed Leo and Kate to a lot of 'unpleasant' scrutiny along with the success. However, Mr. McConaughey seemed to have mixed feelings about the whole thing.
During a 2021 interview with Rob Lowe, Matthew said that he assumed his Titanic audition with Kate went well — so well, in fact, he thought he'd secured the part. 'After we left, you know, it was one of those ones where they followed me, and when we got outside, they were like, 'That went great.' I mean, kind of, like, hugs,' he recalled. 'I really thought it was going to happen. It did not.'
In the same interview, he also denied speculation that he was ever offered the part.
And while that may have been Matthew's recollection of events, a new memoir suggests that the actor actually blew the audition after refusing to adjust his performance to the director's notes.
For context, Jon Landau was James Cameron's producing partner for decades and sadly died last year. Now, in an excerpt from his upcoming posthumous memoir, The Bigger Picture, which was featured in Matt Belloni's What I'm Hearing newsletter on Aug. 5, the producer revealed where Matthew's Titanic audition went wrong.
'We brought him in to do a scene with Kate. You want to check for chemistry, not just how people look on film but how they interact. Kate was taken with Matthew, his presence and charm,' Landau recalled, specifying that 'Matthew did the scene with the drawl.'
For context, the fictional character of Jack is meant to be from Wisconsin in the script. So, at this point in the audition, the director requested that Matthew try the scene in 'a different way.' However, the Texas native was not interested in changing his accent, apparently replying: 'No. That was pretty good. Thanks.'
Landau recalled that this was the moment that Matthew's chances of landing the part plummeted. 'Let's just say, that was it for McConaughey,' he summarized.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before Cameron and Landau stumbled upon Leo, who, for what it's worth, didn't have the smoothest audition either. But you can read more about that here…
Anyway, do you think they made the right decision? I weirdly think Matthew would've been well cast as Jack, and I have to wonder how he feels about this new memoir revelation. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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