Before Titanic turned Leonardo DiCaprio into a global star, John C. Reilly says he pushed him hard to pass on James Cameron’s blockbuster and take Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights instead—right down to the blunt warning that “everyone knows the boat sinks.
On June 3, John C. Reilly didn’t sound like he was looking back with distance—he sounded like he was still trying to change the outcome.
Reilly shared on the “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” podcast that, before Titanic made Leonardo DiCaprio a global superstar, he urged the actor to choose 1997’s Boogie Nights instead. Reilly even dismissed Titanic at the time as “a boat that sinks.”
Boogie Nights, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, centered on a nightclub dishwasher who grows into a p*** star. Reilly said finding the right performer for the role was hard because “being in p*** was thought of as taboo.” At the center of the story. the protagonist ultimately starred Mark Wahlberg—but Reilly said DiCaprio was initially offered the part.
Reilly believed he could steer DiCaprio toward Anderson’s film. He’d worked with DiCaprio before. in 1993’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. and he said he brought that history into the pitch. “I met him when he was 17. And I was like, ‘Give me the assignment, Paul. I’ll get this guy to do your movie. I’ve known him since [he was] a kid,’” Reilly told host Ted Danson.
When DiCaprio was already offered his iconic Titanic role. Reilly tried to sell him on the logic of choosing Boogie Nights. He told him, “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.”.
He also talked Anderson up to get DiCaprio to commit to the project, saying, “This guy, this director, is going to be one of the most talented film directors going forward, and you should not miss this opportunity.”
And when DiCaprio stayed with Titanic—because his agents thought it’d be “a really big movie”—Reilly kept pushing. “I’m telling you, man. I’m telling you, I wouldn’t give you a bum steer here. It’s about a boat that sinks.”
The gamble, of course, landed differently than Reilly wanted. Titanic became a blockbuster and shot Leonardo DiCaprio to fame.
Still, Reilly said DiCaprio later came to regret the choice. “I think that all the massive success that came with that movie was both a blessing and a curse. It was just a lot for a young man.”
In 2025, DiCaprio told Anderson in an interview published by Esquire, “My biggest regret is not doing Boogie Nights. It was a profound movie of my generation… It was a masterpiece.” Years after those warnings and missed chances. DiCaprio and Anderson eventually joined forces for last year’s One Battle After Another.
John C. Reilly Leonardo DiCaprio Titanic Boogie Nights Paul Thomas Anderson Ted Danson What’s Eating Gilbert Grape Esquire One Battle After Another