He’s definitely not the king of the world.
Ethan Hawke might have flubbed his audition for “Titanic,” but he doesn’t harbor any hard feelings toward Leonardo DiCaprio, who snagged the iconic role of Jack Dawson instead.
DiCaprio, now 50, played Jack opposite Kate Winslet’s Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron’s groundbreaking film back in 1997, a role that Hawke, now 54, initially auditioned for.
“I don’t think I dealt with that success the same way Leo did,” Hawke remarked in a recent chat with “GQ UK.” He added, “He was, like, a star.”
During that time, “Titanic” won the Oscar for Best Picture, which was a significant achievement.
The romantic roles DiCaprio took on helped him land other major films, including “Catch Me If You Can” in 2002 and “Blood Diamond” in the same year.
The latter earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
Fast forward to 2016, DiCaprio finally took home his first Oscar for Best Actor with “The Revenant,” after enduring a few previous snubs.
When “Titanic” first hit theaters 28 years ago, DiCaprio, then just 23, had some reservations about joining such a large-scale project.
“I was hesitant about doing something so commercial,” he explained in an interview. “To me, those types of films often felt a bit superficial, lacking depth and strong character development.”
However, reading the script and meeting James Cameron and Winslet changed his perspective.
At the height of “Titanic’s” success, Hawke had already established himself, thanks to films like “Dead Poets Society” in 1989, “Reality Bites” in 1994, and “Before Sunrise” in 1995.
Hawke received his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the crime drama “Training Day” in 2001.
Even though he didn’t win that night, he fondly remembers Denzel Washington whispering some wise words to him: “It’s actually better if you don’t win.”
“You don’t want an award to define your worth,” Hawke continued in a 2024 interview. “It’s your growth as an actor that matters more.”
He also reflected on losing the Oscar to Jim Broadbent for “Iris,” stating that he was sitting beside Washington and felt almost triumphant regardless of the outcome.
Now, years later, Hawke’s children Levon, 23, and Maya, 27, both from his marriage to Uma Thurman, are pursuing their own artistic paths.
“Anyone who knows Maya realizes she’s incredibly talented,” Ethan shared. “She writes music, acts, and paints—she’s an absolute creative force.”
“Working with everyone on the production was thrilling; it was exciting to collaborate with such talented people,” he noted about Maya’s film “Wildcat.”
