Oscar-Winning Film ‘Titanic’ Could Have Starred This Country Music Legend

A starring role in the blockbuster film Titanic was turned down by this country superstar, and they called it one of their “regrets” during an appearance on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live.

Reba McEntire was considered for the role of Molly Brown, otherwise known as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” a real person who sailed the ill-fated ship on its maiden voyage. In the film, the role was played by actress Kathy Bates.

McEntire revealed on the Bravo series that she had to “turn down” the role in the 1995 blockbuster film (it would go on to gross over $2 billion since its release) due to scheduling conflicts.

“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,” said the country superstar and host of the Academy of Country Music Awards on WWHL, as reported by People Magazine.

Cohen then asked her if she was just a bit upset when she saw how big the movie was. McEntire stated frankly, “Well, sure, absolutely But you got to take care of your people.”

McEntire would have likely benefitted greatly from appearing in the film. Business Insider reported that actors in the film get residuals when the film airs on television and when it is put into theatrical re-release. The film would boast 14 Oscar nominations and score 11 wins including the biggest of all, Best Picture, in 1998.

Titanic was an ill-fated ocean liner which set sail from Southhampton, England, en route to New York City on its maiden voyage in 1912. It sank after the ship hit an iceberg. There were 2,229 people on board the ship, ranging from those in first to third class, as well as hundreds of crew members reported History. Only 700 survived.

In order to expedite the time the ship would arrive in New York City, the BBC reported that the ship’s captain, John Smith, failed the passengers and crew of the Titanic by neglecting to heed ice warnings. He also did not slow his ship when ice was reported directly in the ship’s path and allowed lifeboats to leave the sinking ship partially filled. Adding extra passengers to the boats would have saved, according to the BBC, another 500 lives at least.

McEntire’s 29th studio album, Stronger Than the Truth, will be released on April 5.

The 2019 ACM Awards in Las Vegas will air April 7.