"He was a f*cking Beatle" - Ethan Hawke on losing out on a key role to Leonardo DiCaprio, admits he wouldn't have 'handled that success as well'

Ethan Hawke, who had once auditioned for the lead role of Jack Dawson in the 1997 film Titanic, recently opened up about losing out on the part to Leonardo DiCaprio.

According to People Magazine, in his interview with British GQ, published on Monday, September 1, Hawke praised DiCaprio for the way he portrayed the character and how he handled his eventual success, saying:

"He was a f*cking Beatle."

Hawke was recently spotted at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival, where he spoke with Variety about two of his upcoming films (Highway 99 and Blue Moon), both set to come out later this year. The actor said:

"Oh, it’s weird. I’m here with two films about two of the great American songwriters, which is kind of interesting. It’s not purposeful at all."

Ethan Hawke praises Leonardo DiCaprio for the way he handled his later success

Ethan Hawke, in his latest interview with British GQ, opened up about why, decades later, he now thinks that Leonardo DiCaprio was the right choice for the role of Jack Dawson. He said:

"I don't think I would have handled that success as well as Leo."

Leonardo DiCaprio, who was already a popular actor when he was cast as Jack Dawson, shot to immediate worldwide fame following the release of the film in 1997. Meanwhile, Ethan Hawke, who had already been a part of Oscar-nominated movies like Dead Poets Society, would also go on to achieve further success in his career, especially when he was nominated for his first Oscar for his role as LAPD officer Jake Hoyt in Training Day.

In his interview, Hawke added how he had not campaigned at all for his Oscar nomination and said:

"I didn’t campaign at all. Nobody took an ad out for me. Now, it’s political in a way. We can thank Harvey Weinstein for turning it into a junket. The industry learned that you can make money off those awards, so they started investing."

Ethan Hawke also highlighted which of his performances made him truly popular. The Before Sunset actor explained that it was his role as Troy Dryer in the 1994 movie, Reality Bites, that actually pushed him into stardom. He said:

"That was the moment that went from me being an actor to people knowing my name. Oh, he’s one of those Dead Poets guys’ turned into ‘Oh, he’s him.’”

Hawke also spoke about why he has never identified himself as a 'movie star' despite his successful career, saying:

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“I never self-identified as a ‘movie star’. I was allergic to that. Having a trademark by my name and making a million dollars – that wasn’t part of my dream.

In his interview, Hawke further explained why he is now concentrating on making independent cinema, saying that the sense of "independent spirit can exist anywhere."

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