Titanic was one of the great global successes of the last century, released on December 19, 1997 and being a landmark in the history of cinema, with a cast that marked generations. Its director, James Cameron, produced this revolutionary film that featured a technological breakthrough in the use of visual and practical effects, which led to new standards for large-scale films, especially in terms of production
Today we're going to take a look back at the cast of the Titanic movie, with each of the actors who brought them to life. In addition, we're going to do a detailed analysis of the cast, highlighting their trajectories after the great success and finding out what the later careers of the Titanic actors were like.
Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt Bukater)
In the movie, Rose is the protagonist of this story. The young girl is 17 and lives in Philadelphia, but she is forced to marry an older man, 30 years old, because her family has sunk into debt after the death of her father. Her suitor is Caledon Hockley, an aristocrat, and her mother wants to maintain her family's position and prestige in the upper echelons of society, using her daughter's marriage to do so.
But Rose doesn't agree with her mother's choices and, like any adventurous and dreamy young woman, ends up getting into trouble. Eventually, Rose meets Jack, a lower-class young man who becomes her lover and disrupts her relationship with Caledon. This striking character, Rose, was partly inspired by Beatrice Wood, a renowned artist.
The leading lady was played by Kate Winslet, who has already had other important roles in the industry, such as Clementine Kruczynski in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Her participation in the cast of the Titanic film earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress!
Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson)
If you're a movie fan, it's impossible not to know Leonardo DiCaprio, one of the Hollywood's most famous actors. He was the male lead in this 1997 movie, playing Jack, a poor orphan living in Wisconsin. His personality was radiant, lively and adventurous, as the young man wanted to travel the world, but his talent for art stood out throughout the film.
Jack is a talented painter and demonstrated this in his sketch, called "Rose on board the Titanic", where he drew inspiration from himself and his beloved to give rise to one of the most popular scenes in the movie. DiCaprio was part of the cast of the Titanic movie and this helped boost his career while he was still very young.
Over the years, he has established himself in the industry and is one of today's best-known actors, working on subsequent projects such as The Wolf of Wall Street, The Origin and The Comeback, which won him an Oscar!
Billy Zane (Caledon Hockley)
Playing a 30-year-old aristocrat, Billy Zane is part of the cast of the Titanic movie. His character is the heir to a steel company in Pittsburgh, with a considerable inheritance that attracted the attention of Rose's mother. Although Rose is very young and shows great disinterest in this marriage, "Cal" is a man who is possessive of his fiancée and shows certain antagonistic tendencies as a result.
Surrounded by wealth and the owner of a steel empire, his personality leads him to look down on anyone who doesn't have the same level of wealth as him. Billy Zane is yet another of this cast who is quite renowned in Hollywood.
The American actor is most popular for his role as a superhero in the film The Phantom, as well as having worked on other successful films such as Terror on Board and Back to the Future.
Frances Fisher (Ruth DeWitt Bukater)
Ruth DeWitt Bukater is Rose's mother and the widow who is determined to get her daughter a million-dollar wedding. Choosing Cal as her main suitor, she plans the trip on the Titanic with her daughter and, throughout the movie, we notice how clearly elitist and prejudiced she is, as she belittles Jack in every situation in which they interact.
She stands out as a controlling mother who is willing to do anything to maintain her family's wealth and prestige, even if it means her daughter is forced into a marriage with a man she doesn't love. Actress Frances Fisher plays Ruth and, as well as being cast in the Titanic film, she has starred in other well-known and high-profile Hollywood films, such as The Unforgiven and Jolene, and Watchmen, an HBO series.
Kathy Bates (Margaret "Molly" Brown)
Margaret "Molly" Brown is one of the most sympathetic characters in the cast of the Titanic movie, being a rich woman who has recently acquired her wealth and this makes other members of the upper class look down on her. Despite this, she doesn't allow herself to be contaminated by the haughtiness of the aristocrats and treats everyone kindly, including Jack himself. When the young man is invited to a dinner in first class, it is Molly who offers him suitable clothes for the event.
This is one of the characters who was inspired by a real-life passenger on board the Titanic, played by Kathy Bates. The actress has had a successful career and is widely known for her Oscar-winning performance in Misery.
Victor Garber (Thomas Andrews)
Thomas Andrews is the man known for being the builder of the Titanic, which despite being an extremely luxurious ship, did not reflect the modest personality of its creator. Throughout the movie we see that, despite the Titanic being a very large ship, Thomas doesn't rule out the possibility of it sinking, always being cautious and warning the other executives of the shipping company he is part of.
The character also appears in some scenes interacting with Rose, showing a kind nature and empathy for the young woman's situation. Actor Victor Garber is part of the cast of the Titanic film and, even though he is a professional used to the theater, he did very well in bringing this historic character to life.
After Titanic, Garber also worked on successful projects, gaining attention when he played Firestorm in Legends of Tomorrow and worked on an action series called Alias, playing a CIA agent called Jack Bristow.
Gloria Stuart (Rose Dawson Calvert)
Gloria Stuart is the oldest member of the cast of the Titanic movie, being 87 when filming took place. She stood out for bringing Rose to life, in her aged version decades after the incident that led to the sinking of the Titanic. She acts as a narrator of the events of the film, recounting the details of her romance with Jack and, of course, the disaster that changed her life and took her love.
Gloria is a Hollywood veteran with a career spanning many years in films, appearing in works dating back to the 1930s! She worked for Universal Pictures in 1933, in the adaptation of The Invisible Man, and was also part of the cast of The Three Musketeers in 1939. Despite her years of experience and advanced age, Stuart shone in Titanic and her memorable performance earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress!
These are the main characters who brought brilliance and prominence to the movie of James Cameroneven though it is set in 1912, it manages to capture the attention of contemporary audiences, making it a timeless movie. The film won 11 Oscars and, with its characters, explores the theme of social inequality, greed and capitalism by exploring different social classes on a single ship on the high seas.
If you liked this article, you're a fan of cinema and great classics, make sure you also check out our other content on the meaning of the characters in Alice in Wonderland and what they are the 7 best movies to watch as a couple!
