Leonardo DiCaprio was almost without a role in the famous movie “Titanic”. The director of the film explained what the problem was. “He didn’t know we were going to test him. He thought it was another date where he would meet Kate. I told him we would go into the next room, read a few lines and I would record it. And he said, “Oh, I don’t read.” I shook his hand and thanked him for coming,” Cameron said.”
“Wait, wait, wait. If I don’t read, I won’t get the role? Just like that?” DiCaprio asked the director, to which he replied: “Oh yes. This is a huge movie that’s going to take two years of my life, and you’re going to go do five other things while I do post-production. So I’m not going to ruin it by making a bad casting decision. So you either read or you don’t get the part.”
DiCaprio reluctantly agreed to read and was outraged until the camera rolled, Cameron claims. The moment he shouted “action”, DiCaprio turned into Jack: “The dark clouds parted, and a ray of sunshine illuminated Jack. That’s when I decided: OK, he’s the guy.”
What lesson can we learn from this event? Let’s never approach any project in life lightly, no matter how big or small. Our attitude and approach makes the difference between success and failure.
