Titanic producer reveals Matthew McConaughey's excruciating audition gaffe that cost him the part of Jack

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Matthew McConaughey lost the part of Jack Dawson in Titanic after refusing director James Cameron's request to ditch his southern accent during his audition, it is claimed.
Titanic producer Jon Landau finally revealed what cost McConaughey the plum part in his upcoming memoir, set to be published posthumously in November after he died of cancer in July 2024 aged 63.
McConaughey was brought in to perform a scene with Kate Winslet and explore their on-screen chemistry, according to a teaser obtained by Matthew Belloni's What I'm Hearing newsletter.
The pair's connection was undeniable during the 1996 meeting, with Landau writing how 'Kate was taken with Matthew, his presence and charm'.
But Texas-born McConaughey spoke with a 'drawl' during the scene which did not resonate with director James Cameron, the producer revealed in his memoir.
'That's great,' Cameron told the actors after their initial screen test. 'Now let's try it a different way.'
McConaughey reportedly declined, saying: 'No. That was pretty good. Thanks.'
'Let's just say, that was it for McConaughey,' Landau wrote, suggesting that the actor's refusal to run the scene again during the audition cost him the role.
But Winslet would have starred alongside Matthew McConaughey (pictured in 1996 - the year of his audition) in the $2billion blockbuster had the actor not refused Cameron's direction during an audition
The fates of the lovers Rose and Jack, coupled with heart-stopping action scenes as the boat sinks, caught the imagination of cinema-goers everywhere.
Titanic became one of the most successful movies of all time, earning $2.2billion, and undeniably propelled Winslet and DiCaprio to global stardom.
McConaughey's career was already on the rise after he got his big break by landing a supporting role alongside Woody Harrison in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused.
His performance in A Time to Kill (1996) solidified his role as a leading man, but it wasn't until the 2010s that McConaughey arguably reached superstar status.
He became a household name after success in films like True Detective, Interstellar, and Dallas Buyers Club, which saw him win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
While no one can say for sure what Titanic would be like with McConaughey as the leading man, it is likely the actor would have skyrocketed to fame just as DiCaprio did.
DiCaprio starred in various films before booking Titanic, including Romeo and Juliet, Total Eclipse, The Basketball Diaries and the tv series, Growing Pains.
He earned his first Oscar nomination in 1994 for What's Eating Gilbert Grape when he was just 20 years old.
DiCaprio was then nominated for Best Actor (The Aviator) in 2004. He later earned a Best Actor nod for Blood Diamond in 2006 and for the Wolf Of Wall Street in 2013.
He finally won his first Oscar in 2014 for his performance in The Revenant.
Despite his success in Titanic, DiCaprio performance in the film did not see him nominated for an Academy Award.
Titanic was nominated for 14 Oscars in 1998 and won 11 - a feat never surpassed and equaled only by two other films: Ben-Hur (1959) and The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
The film held the record for ticket sales for decades until another movie by Cameron, 'Avatar,' took the spot as the number one grossing movie with $2.9 billion at the box office.
Landau was the recipient of his first Academy Award when Titanic won Best Picture.
His memoir, titled The Bigger Picture: My Blockbuster Life & Lessons Learned Along The Way, will be posthumously released by the Disney Publishing imprint on November 4.
The book sees Landau share behind-the-scenes stories about some of his greatest works in Hollywood, including Titanic, Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), all of which were directed by Cameron.