Matthew McConaughey, 55, almost landed the role of Jack Dawson in James Cameron’s 1997 film “Titanic,” but lost out due to his Southern drawl. In a new posthumous memoir, “The Bigger Picture” by Jon Landau, the late producer detailed the casting in depth.

I magine Matthew McConaughey as Jack Dawson in Titanic — painting portraits, dancing at third-class parties and desperately trying to float on that infamous door. It nearly happened, but according to new revelations, the actor's refusal to make one simple change cost him the career-defining role.

Matthew McConaughey wasn't quite "king of the world' material in the mid-'90s. In the forthcoming memoir The Bigger Picture, the late Titanic producer Jon Landau recalls the Interstellar actor's failed audition for the role of Jack in the epic, Oscar-winning disaster movie.