‘Titanic’ Producer Finally Reveals Why Matthew McConaughey Lost His Role

Matthew McConaughey could have been Jack Dawson, but his southern drawl sank his chances.

According to "Titanic" producer Jon Landau’s upcoming memoir, "The Bigger Picture: My Blockbuster Life & Lessons Learned Along The Way," McConaughey was seriously considered for the role that eventually catapulted Leonardo DiCaprio into superstardom.

The highly anticipated book, which will be released posthumously in November following Landau’s death in July 2024, offers a bombshell revelation that Matthew McConaughey lost the part after refusing to drop his Texas accent during his audition.

In a teaser from the memoir, obtained by Matthew Belloni’s "What I’m Hearing" newsletter, Landau recalls McConaughey auditioning opposite Kate Winslet in 1996. The chemistry was undeniable, with Landau writing that “Kate was taken with Matthew, his presence and charm.”

But director James Cameron wasn’t sold. After the initial screen test, Cameron reportedly asked the actor to try the scene again without the southern drawl. McConaughey declined, allegedly responding, “No. That was pretty good. Thanks.”

“Let’s just say, that was it for McConaughey,” Landau wrote, suggesting that the actor’s refusal to adjust cost him one of the most iconic roles in Hollywood history.

Instead, Leonardo DiCaprio boarded the Titanic as Jack Dawson, starring opposite Kate Winslet’s Rose in a love story set against the doomed 1912 ocean liner.

The film went on to gross $2.2 billion worldwide, winning 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and cementing DiCaprio and Winslet as household names.

Although DiCaprio’s performance didn’t earn him an Oscar nomination at the time, "Titanic" was a defining moment in his career, launching him to the top tier of Hollywood leading men. He would go on to earn multiple Oscar nominations before finally winning Best Actor in 2016 for "The Revenant."

This isn’t the first time McConaughey has spoken about almost landing the role of Jack Dawson.

In a 2021 conversation with Rob Lowe, the actor opened up about his "Titanic" audition alongside Winslet, recalling how confident he felt walking out of the room.

“So I went and read with Kate Winslet and it was not one of the auditions, they filmed it so it was like into screen test time,” McConaughey explained at the time. “After we left, you know, it was one of those ones where they, like, followed me and when we got outside they were like, ‘That went great.’ I mean, kind of, like, hugs. I really thought it was going to happen. It did not.”

Despite years of Hollywood gossip claiming he had been offered the role and turned it down, McConaughey has made it clear that was never the case. “I asked [director James] Cameron about this, because the gossip over the years that I heard and would see written about me was that I had the role in Titanic and turned it down. Not factual. I did not get offered that role.”

The Oscar-winning actor even laughed about the persistent rumor, joking, “For a while I was saying, ‘I gotta find that agent. They’re in trouble.’ I did not ever get the offer.”

For McConaughey, losing "Titanic" didn’t stall his rise.

His breakout role in "A Time to Kill" (1996) positioned him as a leading man, and over the next decade, he built a career that spanned romantic comedies, thrillers, and dramas. His “McConaissance” in the 2010s, with "Dallas Buyers Club," "Interstellar," and HBO’s "True Detective," solidified his place as one of the most respected actors of his generation, earning him an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Still, the revelation raises the tantalizing question. What if McConaughey had agreed to drop the accent? Would Jack Dawson’s heartbreaking “I’m the king of the world!” have been delivered with a southern twang?

Landau’s memoir also dives into the making of "Avatar" (2009) and "Avatar: The Way of Water" (2022), films that cemented his and Cameron’s legacy in blockbuster filmmaking.

"Titanic," however, remains a centerpiece of his career, earning him his first Academy Award when the film took home Best Picture in 1998.

"The Bigger Picture: My Blockbuster Life & Lessons Learned Along The Way" will be released on November 4 by Disney Publishing, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at how Hollywood’s biggest hits almost looked very different.