Why Did Reba McEntire Let Go of a Role in ‘Titanic’ Even Though it Killed Her a Little?

Superstar Reba McEntire is one of the most popular female country singers of our time. However, she’s also a crossover talent, shining her acting skills in films like Tremors before finding success as the lead in her own sitcom, Reba. As it turns out, she even landed an iconic role in the 1997 film Titanic, but she eventually had to turn it down. Why did she say no to a role she already had even though it killed her to do it? And who was she preparing to play?

Reba McEntire’s debut film was ‘Tremors’

In 1990, McEntire made her film debut in the cult classic horror movie Tremors. Alongside Kevin Bacon, she starred as a resident of a small, isolated town being terrorized by giant, man-eating worms. Though it wasn’t highly popular in theaters, it developed its own fan following after being released on VHS.

McEntire said the film brought her a new group of fans, some that didn’t even know she was already famous. “So many times, people wouldn’t even know I sang,” McEntire told Esquire in 2020. “It’s a cult film! People are into it!”

It was a very busy and difficult time in her professional life. “The thing that made Tremors hard for me is that I was touring on the weekend, flying to L.A., getting on a puddle jumper to Olancha, California, and then driving to Long Pine to stay in a motel,” she shared. “And then they’d come get me at 6 in the morning to come to set.”

But it was also a remarkable time in her personal life, as she managed to squeeze in a wedding. She said, “I finished the week, got married, did two or three shows, then went back to filming.”

Reba McEntire had the role of Molly Brown in ‘Titanic’

On an episode of Watch What Happens Live, McEntire revealed to host Andy Cohen that she had the role of “the Unsinkable Molly Brown” in Titanic. But when movie production was delayed, she gave up her part so she could honor her other professional obligations.

“We were on tour, and I had a lot of people on the payroll. We had these three months already scheduled to do the movie, and then they got behind on scheduling and said, ‘We’ll have to move it to this time,’” she explained. “So, we couldn’t reschedule all the arenas and everything.”

“Did it kind of kill you a little bit?” Cohen asked to which McEntire replied, “Well, sure! Absolutely!”

Kathy Bates as Molly Brown in ‘Titanic’

Though there’s little doubt McEntire would have provided a fabulous performance alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, the role of Molly Brown went to scene-stealer Kathy Bates. The role scored her an award for Favorite Supporting Actress in a drama at the 1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.

Both in the movie and in real life, Molly Brown was known as “new wealth” aboard the doomed ocean liner. Therefore, some of the other passengers snubbed and insulted her. When it came time to make a film, she made for a good moral compass where some of the “old wealth” characters were villains in different forms.

So, while McEntire undoubtedly would have nailed the historically rich part, Bates did a great job as well. And what was seemingly most important to McEntire was prioritized in the end.

“You gotta take care of your people,” she told Cohen.