DiCaprio was already a household name when he appeared in Titanic, having turned in acclaimed performances in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries and Romeo + Juliet. But he shot to international superstardom portraying Jack Dawson, a penniless Wisconsin man who won his ticket on the Titanic in a poker game. DiCaprio, then 23, almost didn’t take the role; he thought that Kate Winslet’s character had the more interesting journey.