Leonardo DiCaprio has been acting in TV and indie films for years prior to his break out hit that was James Cameron’s Titanic. But, as non-coherently expressed by Paul Rudd, he may have influenced DiCaprio into taking up the title of Jack Dawson.
During an episode of The Graham Norton Show, Rudd was sitting with Norton and a handful of other actors when the Norton noted Rudd was probably a huge influence on DiCaprio’s career, to which he nervously laughed, denying any sort of actual influence. But, he did have a story to tell.
After the last day of shooting Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio, he and “the guys” went out to a bar. During the drive there, he learned of the role put onto DiCaprio’s plate. He knew a great deal about the Titanic as his father was a Titanic expert who travelled around, speaking about the ship at universities and such.
My father was a Titanic expert and he used to take people all over the world talking about Titanic. He would go to universities.
Because of his lack of studio experience and only having small films and TV to show his acting chops, DiCaprio was unsure if he would take it. Rudd outright told him. “You should do it.” That being said, he still is skeptical of if he was the reason behind him accepting the role, but he does find it fun to reminisce about that.
Paul Rudd is set to star in the upcoming TV comedy Living With Yourself, which is going to launch on October 18, 2019. He is also going to appear in the 2020’s Ghostbusters coming to theaters July 10, 2020. Rudd is also going to be staring in What If...?, an animated Marvel series.
The episode is going to air on Friday at 11 PM.