Leonardo DiCaprio's Titanic role was nearly played by Paul Rudd
The actor originally auditioned to play the role of the plucky, charming Jack Dawson in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.There's an alternate timeline right now in which Paul Rudd just won an Oscar for The Revenant.
Teen heartthrob-era Rudd originally auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster, Titanic; the role which was eventually so famously played by Leonardo DiCaprio. This was in the time before Rudd first dipped his toe in comedy, coincidentally starring opposite DiCaprio's Romeo in Baz Luhrmann's 1996 Romeo + Juliet, playing spurned suitor Dave Paris.
But what's even more interesting is the reason Rudd was so keen to get involved in the production. "My dad was a Titanic historian, that's what he did for a living," he told James Corden on The Late Late Show. "He used to take people all over the world talking about the Titanic."
Which would have made for an adorable backstory if he had landed the role, except his inherited nerdom about the ship actually proved less endearing to casting directors. "I knew so much about the ship. I went into the audition talking about the kind of steel that was used and Harland and Wolff, where they built it," he recalled. "And they were like, 'OK... none of this matters.'"
He joked, "I think the guy that got it was pretty good,"; before recreating the iconic, "I'm the king of the world!", moment with the help of Diane Lane.
While alternate timeline Paul Rudd is off polishing his Academy Award somewhere; our own timeline's Paul Rudd is set to reprise his role as Ant-Man in Captain America: Civil War, which hits UK cinemas 29 April.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments