FILM · 1997 · USA
Titanic
- Directed by
- James Cameron
- Runtime
- 194 min
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Lightstorm Entertainment
37 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
Summary: TMDB
Titanic: 10 Facts About the Characters and Cast
- #027
Established actors such as Chris O'Donnell and Stephen Dorff were considered for Titanic, but James Cameron judged them too old to play a 20-year-old; Tom Cruise expressed interest yet his asking price was too high.
- #028
Jared Leto was considered for Titanic but refused to audition, while Billy Crudup was shortlisted and asked to audition but declined, choosing instead to star in Without Limits (1998); in 2000 Crudup said the film would not have been as successful had he taken the role.
- #029
Jeremy Sisto filmed screen tests with Kate Winslet and three other actresses competing for the role of Rose, while Mark Wahlberg met Cameron about the part but Cameron was not interested; Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, Christian Bale and Paul Rudd also auditioned, and McConaughey was disregarded for refusing to change his Southern drawl.
- #030
Leonardo DiCaprio was 21 years old when casting director Mali Finn brought him to James Cameron's attention for Titanic.
- #031
DiCaprio initially did not want the Titanic role and refused to read his first romantic scene; Cameron recalled that he read it once, then began goofing around and could not be made to focus on it again.
- #032
Cameron told DiCaprio he would not make the character brooding and neurotic, and envisioned him in the manner of roles played by James Stewart or Gregory Peck.
- #034
James Cameron described the character Rose as "an Audrey Hepburn type".
- #035
Gwyneth Paltrow, Winona Ryder, Claire Danes, Gabrielle Anwar and Reese Witherspoon were considered for the role of Rose in Titanic.
- #036
Kate Winslet campaigned for the role of Rose by sending James Cameron daily notes from England, a single rose with a card signed "From Your Rose", and lobbying him by phone; her persistence and talent convinced him to cast her.
- #037
James Cameron said Kate Winslet "had the thing that you look for" and that there was "a quality in her face, in her eyes" that made him believe audiences would go the distance with her.
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Reference databases
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Titanic (1997 film) — Wikipedia
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