You’ve probably have heard of a little movie from 1997 called Titanic. You know, the one about a sinking ship, starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet.
Well, if things went the way James Cameron initially imagined, the iconic film would’ve also featured Reba McEntire.
The country music superstar was initially cast in the blockbuster as the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, but due to circumstances beyond her control, she couldn’t commit to the role.
During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, McEntire opened up about why she turned down the role and how she felt after the film came out.
“We were on tour and I had a lot of people on the payroll and we had these three months to do the movie. And then they got behind on scheduling and said, “˜No, we’re going to have to move it in this time.’ So we couldn’t reschedule all the arenas and everything,” McEntire explained.
When it was confirmed that she could no longer be part of the film, the role was given to Kathy Bates.
While Reba is mostly known for her music and roles on the small screen, including her eponymous sitcom Reba, she had a lot of success on the big screen too.
In the 90s, she appeared in Tremors, North, and The Little Rascals. A few years later, she was cast in One Night at McCool’s and voiced Betsy the Cow in Charlotte’s Web, alongside Bates.
While McEntire harbors no hard feelings towards Bates, she did admit to Cohen that it “absolutely” crushed her to see a movie she almost was a part of become a worldwide box-office hit that won 11 Academy Awards.
When all is said and done, McEntire stands by her decision because she did what she felt was best for the people who worked for her.
“But you got to take care of your people,” the “Fancy” singer said.
The entertainer may not have been part of the Oscar-winning movie, but she’s done pretty well for herself since. They don’t just call her “Queen of Country” for no reason.
McEntire, a three-time Grammy winner, has sold over 56 million albums worldwide, and will be adding to that figure when her 29th album, Stronger Than the Truth, comes out in April.
Would you like to have seen Reba McEntire as Molly Brown? Let us know in the comments!