American famous actor Ethan Hawke recalled that he once turned down the legendary role of Jack Dawson, later played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and said that he never regretted this decision.
54-year-old Hawke, in his interview with GQ magazine, emphasized that he would not have been able to handle the immense fame that came after the film “Titanic”:
“I never could have achieved that level of success like Leo,” the actor said.
James Cameron’s 1997 film turned DiCaprio into a global star. His on-screen duet with Kate Winslet is still remembered by fans as one of the brightest couples in cinema history.
By that time, Hawke had also played roles in several major projects: “Dead Poets Society,” “Reality Bites,” “Before Sunrise,” among them. Later, he was nominated for an Oscar for the film “Training Day.” He gratefully recalls that Denzel Washington supported him then:
“Your education does not elevate the award, but you must elevate the value of the award.”
At the same time, although DiCaprio reached the peak of Hollywood through “Titanic,” Hawke believes that he also found success in another way. In 1997, he starred in the film “Gattaca” together with his then-wife Uma Thurman.
The actor married Thurman in 1998, but they divorced in 2005. This event attracted great media attention, and Hawke does not hide that he found the press interest difficult to cope with at the time. Nevertheless, the former spouses managed to maintain a sincere relationship for the sake of their children — now 27-year-old Maya and 23-year-old Levon.
Today Ethan Hawke continues to work actively, and years later, about the rejected role in “Titanic,” he says: the fame that went to Leonardo DiCaprio could have been an excessive burden for him.
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