John C. Reilly once tried to pull Leonardo DiCaprio away from Titanic, the biggest blockbuster in cinema history. Reilly, confident in his long-standing friendship with DiCaprio, pitched him hard toward Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights instead. The two had shared the screen in What's Eating Gilbert Grape back in 1993, giving Reilly the personal leverage to make his case. Hollywood almost looked very, very different.

While DiCaprio weighed a sinking ship against a rising star director, one phone call nearly rewrote box office history.

John C. Reilly made his feelings about Titanic crystal clear when he appeared on Ted Danson's Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast. Having collaborated with Paul Thomas Anderson on Hard Eight in 1996, Reilly was fully sold on his friend's genius and wanted Leonardo DiCaprio on board. 

"'Listen, Leo, let me tell you something. That movie Titanic is about a boat that sinks. Everyone knows the boat sinks. No one's going to give a s*** about who's on the boat,'" Reilly recalled telling DiCaprio directly.

Reilly then added that Anderson was going to be one of the most talented film directors from now on, and DiCaprio should not miss that opportunity, framing it as a career-defining choice rather than a simple rejection of a studio blockbuster.

Leonardo DiCaprio's agents, however, were firmly in the opposite camp, convinced Titanic was destined to be a massive commercial hit. John C. Reilly, undeterred, kept pressing his case, insisting he would not give DiCaprio bad advice. DiCaprio ultimately sided with his agents, and Titanic went on to gross $1.84 billion in its original run alone. Mark Wahlberg stepped into the Boogie Nights lead instead, playing Dirk Diggler opposite Reilly's Reed Rothchild.

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As John C. Reilly watched Titanic shatter records, another Hollywood actor was quietly sitting with his own regret about the very same role.

Ethan Hawke has openly admitted he turned down the role of Jack Dawson, the part that turned Leonardo DiCaprio into a global phenomenon. Hawke told The Telegraph in 2025 that watching DiCaprio command that level of attention was like watching a Beatle. He confessed that landing Titanic could have provided lifelong financial security, joking plainly: "Damn DiCaprio!"

Hawke acknowledged, however, that declining Titanic led him directly to Gattaca, where he met Uma Thurman and eventually became father to Maya Hawke. The career detour shaped both his personal life and his artistic identity in ways a blockbuster likely never would have. Today, Hawke is thriving on The Lowdown, starring as rare book dealer Lee Raybon in his first-ever television second season. Two actors, one legendary role, and zero shortage of what-ifs.

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What are your thoughts on DiCaprio almost missing Titanic for Boogie Nights? Let us know in the comments.