Claire Danes turned down Rose's role in 'Titanic' opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, says she has zero regrets
Could you ever imagine the iconic roles of Rose and Jack in 'Titanic' played by any actors other than Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio? It may be hard to envisage anyone else but actress Claire Danes was almost cast as Rose!
The 'Homeland' actress made the revelation on Monday’s Armchair Expert when host Dax Shepard asked her if she'd been offered the part. “I think I did. I’m not entirely clear on that. There was strong interest.”
Referring to her role as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film 'Romeo + Juliet' with DiCaprio as Romeo, she added, “I had just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City, which is where they were going to shoot Titanic. And I just didn’t have it in me.”
Danes also clarified that she wasn't in two minds after giving it a thumbs-down and has zero regrets. “I was really clear about it. I wasn’t conflicted. It was going to propel me to something I knew I didn’t have the resources to cope with. I knew I had to do a lot of foundation building,” Danes said.
While she was clear she didn’t want the part, DiCaprio “was wrestling with the decision whether to do it or not.” Reminiscing the casting days, the actress disclosed how DiCaprio was circling the outside of his manager’s office in a red convertible when he “looked up at her and said, ‘I’m doing it! I’m doing it!'” She then recalled her state of mind and said, “And I could see he wasn’t sure.”
DiCaprio was enthralled about taking up the role. “But he was like, ‘F— it, I gotta do this.’ And I looked down at him going like, ‘I totally understand why you’re doing that. And I’m not ready for that.’ And I think I really wasn’t ready for it.” She continued, “I remember after that movie came out and he just went into another stratosphere.”
The 1997 movie tells the story of love and loss aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage. After its iconic release, the film put DiCaprio and Winslet on a pedestal with massive fame after it broke all the box-office records. For Danes, the treatment DiCaprio received after the film was “a little scary.”
The 40-year-old actress then added, “I think I may have sensed that I was courting that [level of fame] or I was proximate to that. I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want it.” The actress, who made her debut with the 1994 film 'Little Women', was named Time's One of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2012 and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2015.