That was a dealbreaker for Cameron, who said helium shook DiCaprio's manus and thanked him "for coming by."

"And [DiCaprio] said, 'Wait, wait, wait. You mean, if I don't read, I don't get the part, conscionable similar that?'" Cameron continued. "And I said, 'Oh yeah, travel on. This is similar a elephantine movie.'"

As Cameron puts it, the movie was going to instrumentality up "two years of my life," and helium did not privation to marque "the incorrect determination successful casting." Afterward, helium gave DiCaprio a choice: "You're going to work oregon you're not going to get the part."

DiCaprio agreed, though Cameron noted the aboriginal Oscar victor did truthful begrudgingly.

"So helium comes in, and each ounce of his full being is conscionable truthful antagonistic close up until I said, 'Action,' and past helium turned into Jack. And Kate conscionable lit up and they went into this full happening and helium played the scene," Cameron said. "Dark clouds had opened up and a ray of prima came down and airy up Jack. I'm like, 'Alright, he's the guy.'"

The road to playing Jack wasn't casual for DiCaprio, Cameron remembered, arsenic the histrion was navigating playing a quality who was dissimilar roles helium had done successful the past. When DiCaprio pitched Cameron with changes to Titanic's script—including adding an "affliction" oregon "some traumatic happening from the past" to his character—Cameron told DiCaprio that playing Jack would beryllium a harder challenge, arsenic determination was nary "prop" for him to thin on.

"What I'm talking astir is hard, and you're astir apt not rather acceptable for it. The 2nd I said that, it clicked for him that this was a truly hard, challenging movie for him," Cameron said. "And I realized my mistake. I hadn't laid retired the situation for him sufficiently."

Cameron aboriginal understood that DiCaprio "didn't privation something that was easy," successful fact, "he wanted thing that was hard" and that chasing aft hard roles has been DiCaprio's "instinct" ever since.

Reflecting backmost connected the experience, Cameron added it's pugnacious to representation a satellite wherever DiCaprio isn't successful Titanic.

"But you spot however fragile this worldly is," helium said, "'cause you effort to ideate that movie without Leo oregon Kate. It's precise hard to do."

E! News has reached retired to DiCaprio's rep for remark but hasn't heard back.