Matthew McConaughey lost out on major Titanic role after refusing James Cameron’s one simple request

In a parallel world, Matthew McConaughey didn’t lose out on the role of Jack Dawson in James Cameron’s Titanic to Leonardo DiCaprio - submitting to the one simple request the esteemed director asked of him.

The Interstellar actor has held some iconic roles over the years, including his performance in the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

One film that McConaughey, 55, didn’t manage to snag was 1997’s Titanic, the eleven-time Oscar-winning flick based on the catastrophic sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912.

Directed, written and co-produced by Cameron, 70, Titanic was the first film to gross $1 billion at the box office.

It was also considered the highest-grossing film of all time before eventually being dethroned by 2009’s Avatar.

The 195-minute epic now sits in fourth place behind Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame and the Avatar sequel The Way of Water.

According to an excerpt of late Titanic co-producer Jon Landau's memoir, The Bigger Picture, McConaughey wanted a slice of the action and was even brought in to do a scene with Kate Winslet, 49.

The celebrity, who played Rose DeWitt Bukater in the feature, was apparently ‘taken’ with the rom-com star’s ‘presence and charm’.

Allegedly, McConaughey completed the test scene in his native Texan accent, to which Cameron responded: “That's great, now let's try it a different way.”

Matthew McConaughey has previously put rumours regarding his Titanic audition to bed (John Nacion/Getty Images)

The memoir claimed that the actor responded: "No. That was pretty good. Thanks.”

"Let's just say, that was it for McConaughey,” Landau alleged.

The Lincoln Lawyer favourite has previously opened up about auditioning for Titanic.

"So I went and read with Kate Winslet, and it was not one of the auditions — they filmed it so it was like into screen test time," the star explained to Rob Lowe on his podcast.

"After we left, you know, it was one of those ones where they, like, followed me, and when we got outside, they were like, 'That went great.' I mean, kind of, like, hugs. I really thought it was going to happen. It did not.”

The actor eventually saw Oscars success with Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

McConaughey also used the podcast to dispel the longstanding rumour that he turned down the Jack Dawson role, even asking Cameron to confirm he was never offered the part.

“Not factual. I did not get offered that role. For a while, I was saying, 'I gotta find that agent. They're in trouble…' I did not ever get the offer.”

In the same year that Titanic was released, the Wedding Planner actor appeared in the sci-fi spectacle Contact and Steven Spielberg’s Amistad with Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman and Guardians of the Galaxy’s Djimon Hounsou.

16 years later, he won his first Academy Award, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of Ron Woodroof in Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club.