There is not one person on this earth that could picture the defining film of 1997, Titanic without it’s leading man Leonardo DiCaprio. Or at least that’s what we thought until earlier this month the very director of the movie James Cameron revealed that he almost didn’t cast Leo as everyone’s beloved Jack Dawson.

Turns out when Leo first auditioned for the role he’s had a bit of bad attitude and put off the production team including Cameron, “There was a meeting with Leo and then there was a screen test with Leo,” James said, setting the scene. He says that every woman at work was sitting in the meeting because they wanted to meet Leo and that it was hilarious. Luckily for them Leo was charming and lived up to his Princely Romeo charm.

But when it came to the actual audition, Leo’s ego had almost cost him the role of a life time! Leo was taken to a room to do a reading with Kate Winslet who had already been cast as Rose and been told to do a reading and that they (Cameron) would film it to which Leo had protested saying he doesn’t do reading.

He (DiCaprio) said, “You mean, I’m reading?” I (Cameron) said, “Yeah.”
 He said, ‘Oh, I don’t read.’ then I shook his hand and said, ‘Thanks for coming by.’

Luckily for everyone Leo had realized that the role was too important to miss out on for his ego and habits to get in the way and had decided to do the reading.

But as Cameron recalls, once the cameras were rolling and he’d called action the ice had melted and  he had become Jack.