CLAIRE DANS has revealed that she passed up the opportunity to play Rose on Titanic.
The Homeland star revealed that she does not regret her choice while appearing on the celebrity podcast. Armchair Expert.
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Claire revealed to podcast host Dax Shepard that she had “strong interest” when asked if the role of Rose DeWitt Bukater was ever offered.
When casting for Titanic began, she was already at the age and level of popularity that made her the ideal candidate for the role.
The Hours actor confessed: “I’d just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City, which is where they were going to shoot Titanic, and I just didn’t have it in me.”
Romeo + Juliet is the epic set in Mexico City that the actress was referring to. It is the BazLuhrmann directed retelling Shakespearean romance starring Claire Danes and future Titanic actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Claire revealed to Leo that both of them shared the same manager during that time, and they were both reluctant to undertake what might have been a career-defining role.
Referencing the Departed actor, the 44-year-old recalled: “I could see he wasn’t sure, but he was like, ‘F**k it, I gotta do this thing.'”
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“And I looked down on him, going, I totally understand why you are doing it. And I’m not ready for that. And I think I really wasn’t ready for it.”
Claire admitted: “I remember after that movie came out and he just went into another stratosphere.”
“I went to the premiere of The Man in the Iron Mask and when he walked into the room the floor fell in his direction.”
Leo immediately followed up Titanic with The Man in the Iron Mask.
Claire went on: “Everyone rushed to him. It was quite frightening. Maybe I felt like I was trying to court that. And I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want it.”
Rainmaker’s Rainmaker said: “Zero regret.”
She explained to Dax: “I was just really clear about it. I wasn’t conflicted. I wasn’t.”
The role of Rose eventually went to Kate Winslett who heavily campaigned for the part after better-known actors at the time—Gwyneth Paltrow, Winona Ryder, Reese Witherspoon, and of course Claire Danes—had turned down the role.
SMOOCH ON SCREEN
During the same interview, Claire revealed it was “embarrassing” to lock lips with her MUCH older co-star Jared Leto on the set of My So-Called Life.
Full Circle’s star, who was only 14 when the kiss took place and her boyfriend was 21, revealed that she was terrified of it.
The Golden Globe winner admitted to Dax that she was “clueless” going into the show at such a young age for her role as Angela Chase.
“Is it true that you had your first real-life kiss on that show?” the comedic podcast host asked his guest.
“That’s not true. But it was true that it was more of an involved kiss than I had ever had,” the now mom of one said.
“And there were stage directions that said I was supposed to kiss Jordan Catalano’s face, like not his lips, and I didn’t understand that at all.
She remembered naively asking her co-star as she laughed and then added: “So Jared had to explain that to me, which was very embarrassing.”
When the father-of-two asked if she had a real-life crush on her on-screen love interest, the actress quickly responded: “No, he was way too old.
“I was way too terrified. This was a very close-knit relationship. He was protective towards me.
“I’m sure I said it from the start that you are 14.”
The teen had to complete her schooling while the production was taking place, unlike the lead actor who was 7 years older.
“I was being tutored on set which was really weird.
“Going back to high school and making sense of those two identities was stressful and I don’t miss that,” she said of her early days on the Pennsylvania-based adolescent drama.
ABC cancelled the show after one season. It skyrocketed 30 Seconds to Mars to fame, and made it a Hollywood hit.
It was also Claire’s big break who went on to star alongside Jared’s close friend Leo DiCaprio in the aforementioned, 1996 blockbuster Romeo +Juliet the following year.
According to reports, despite the success of the show on critics’ lists, it was cancelled due to the demands made by the young actors to perform while also balancing their studies.
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