10 Actors Who Originally Turned Down Their Most Iconic Roles

Part of what made Titanic such a success at the box office probably stemmed from the fact that females of all ages went back to see it a bunch of times. You know, on account of Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack Dawson. As the embodiment of "gorgeous," Titanic might never have soared to such heights had they cast, like, Steve Buscemi in the lead role of the charming vagabond.

It might well be shocking to discover that Leonardo DiCaprio originally turned down the part of Jack, however, because he wasn't convinced he had the acting ability to pull it off. Given that he's regarded as one of the best actors of his generation nowadays, that seems kind of funny in retrospect.

Just as was the case with Arnold Schwarzenegger and the T-800, though, James Cameron wasn't taking no for an answer: he obviously realised that casting DiCaprio would be important to the success of Titanic, and set about convincing the actor to play his leading man.

At Cameron's insistence, DiCaprio was eventually won around to the idea, and - when the film finally came out - he shot to stardom. Posters of his face adorned the walls of every home with a teenage girl living in it, and DiCaprio was rendered a Hollywood heartthrob of the highest order. Bet he's glad he agreed to it now.

Which other actors took serious convincing to take on iconic roles? Share an we missed down in the comments.