Before Leonardo DiCaprio’s starring role in Titanic, the iconic James Cameron movie almost starred another high-profile Hollywood legend — Matthew McConaughey.

Why did Matthew McConaughey lose out on his role in Titanic?

In a recent report from Puck discussing the late Avatar and Titanic producer Jon Landau’s posthumous memoir The Bigger Picture, one specific anecdote about McConaughey losing out on the Titanic role is mentioned. According to Landau, the team behind Titanic brought in McConaughey to do a scene with actress Kate Winslet.

The scene itself acted as a chemistry test of sorts, and while Winslet seemed to like McConaughey, things didn’t go so well with director James Cameron. According to Landau, McConaughey did the scene in his typical southern drawl, to which Cameron asked to “try it a different way.”

McConaughey reportedly replied with “No. That was pretty good. Thanks.”

Landau’s book then notes that “that was it for McConaughey.” Of course, by the time Titanic had come out, McConaughey was already a star, having appeared in films like Dazed and Confused, Angels in the Outfield, Glory Daze, and would have appearances in Contact and Amistad in the same year. However, his star power was no match for the likes of Cameron, who clearly wasn’t a fan of McConaughey’s resistance to direction.

(Source: Puck)