James Cameron is setting the record straight on an age old rumor that Matthew McConaughey was offered the role of Jack in Cameron’s “Titanic” but turned it down.
Cameron explained on “The Tonight Show” on Thursday that McConaughey did in fact audition for the movie, and they all really liked him. But then they met Leonardo DiCaprio.
“I just need everyone to back up for a second and realize not everything you hear on the internet is true,” Cameron told Jimmy Fallon. “Leo came in for an interview, and I had this weird thing, I looked around the room, and every woman in the building was in the meeting. Normally you meet with an actor and you’re one-on-one in an office. The accountant was there, and the female security guard. Maybe I should cast this guy.”
McConaughey has addressed this rumor several times before as well. In 2012, he said in an interview with Larry King that he had auditioned for “Titanic” but had never been offered the part, not that he turned it down. And he joked that if he really was offered the part, his agent would be in for a world of trouble.
Then just last month, McConaughey stoked that rumor further in an interview with Andy Cohen, saying that when he auditioned, he thought he nailed the part. And in that interview, he claimed James Cameron himself started the rumor that he had turned it down.
“The audition went really well, well enough that when I left, I was being slapped on the back. You got it. This is what we’re looking for. Well enough that you call your agent and go, ‘Oh this is happening. I nailed it, and they’re really happy too.” McConaughey said. “And then there was a rumor, and James Cameron started this rumor somehow, that I got the role, and didn’t do it. This is false.”
Well, Cameron not only denied that aspect of the story, but he hoped to make everything alright alright alright.
“The Matthew thing has become mythic,” Cameron said. “But I just want to say, Matthew, if you’re watching, are we good? It wasn’t me, man. I didn’t spread this rumor.”
Maybe McConaughey can star in one of the four upcoming “Avatar” sequels, which Fallon is apparently only just learning exist. Watch Cameron’s clip above.