We'll never let go of Jack Dawson from Titanic. There will always be room for him on our door-raft, he's just that special to us. Part of the reason why we love Jack so much is because he was beautifully brought to life by Leonard DiCaprio.
So when we hear that DiCaprio almost wasn't Jack, you can imagine it sends a shiver up the spine. Of course, we have to accept that some of our favorite characters could have been played by someone different, but that doesn't mean it's an easy pill to swallow.
We could have gotten a very different blockbuster had Christian Bale secured the role of Jack instead. Around that time both actors were used to going up against each other for parts. But in the end, Bale didn't get it, because it went to DiCaprio instead.
Here's how Bale lost the part of Jack Dawson.
Bale Allegedly Cited DiCaprio As His Nemesis
When DiCaprio was first breaking through in Hollywood, he had a group of friends infamously called the Pussy Posse. The group, which enlisted the likes of Toby Maguire, often went up for the same roles. But they were friends first and foremost and supported one another.
Bale was not in the group, but he was around the same age, which meant that he and DiCaprio also battled for the same roles. Instead of joining the group of friends that supported each other, Bale apparently became bitter about losing parts to DiCaprio.
According to Bale's long-time publicist, Harrison Cheung, who wrote a tell-all biography about working for the actor, Bale often referred to DiCaprio as his nemesis.
He would use that term because he hated DiCaprio so much for stealing parts from him.
"DiCaprio. The name burned Christian like a branding iron," Cheung wrote in his book Christian Bale - The Inside Story of the Darkest Batman.
"Over the years, Christian had lost This Boy's Life and What's Eating Gilbert Grape to DiCaprio. Christian had read for the part of Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet but was told that they had decided to cast an African-American in the part instead."
So when the role of Jack Dawson came in a little film called Titanic, Bale was once again shot down, solely because of his British accent.
"Christian too had gone up for the part of Jack Dawson in Titanic but was told that James Cameron didn't want two British lead actors playing the two leads who were both supposed to be American."
It's a shame for Bale that he kept losing roles to his "nemesis" but at the time no one could beat the star power that DiCaprio had.
DiCaprio Ironically Turned Down 'American Psycho'
If DiCaprio turning down American Psycho isn't a slap in the face to Bale we don't know what is. Here was a role that both went for, but one that DiCaprio didn't want. Bale only got the role because DiCaprio turned it down.
DiCaprio originally agreed to play Patrick Bateman, with a $20 million paycheck. But out of nowhere, DiCaprio stepped down. No one knows exactly why he left the project but some think it was because Gloria Steinem advised him to.
She allegedly explained to him that taking the role of a murderer, who does awful things to women, would not be a wise choice when there were tons of female fans who were eagerly waiting to see what role he'd take next.
So DiCaprio stepped down and Bale got his scraps. It's okay though because Bale turned out to be obsessed with the role, and he went on to become Batman. DiCaprio's never been given that honor. It was all meant to be.