Paul Rudd reveals he encouraged DiCaprio to star in the Titanic

While Leonardo DiCaprio has had a successful career since he was a young child, Titanic was his true breakout role, and it seems he has Paul Rudd to thank for it.

Rudd, 50, revealed on The Graham Norton Show, in an episode set to air Friday, that he encouraged DiCaprio to take the role.

As it turns out, Rudd is quite familiar with the Titanic, since his father was a Titanic expert who made his living talking about the Titanic all over the world, according to the Daily Mail.

Rudd revealed that he had worked with DiCaprio in the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, where DiCaprio played Romeo and Rudd played Dave Paris.

"It was my last day of filming on Romeo + Juliet and we all went out out to bar afterward," Rudd began.

"We were in different cars and I was riding to the place with Leo and he said, "I just got offered this movie and it's a big movie,"' Rudd said, adding he had largely only starred in indie films at that time.

"He said, 'It's a studio movie. It's Titanic.' And I said, "That's incredible!' and I knew a lot about Titanic since my dad just talks about Titanic all the time," Rudd joked.

He added they had a conversation about the project, but when DiCaprio said, 'Well, I don't know what I'll do,' Rudd said he remembered saying, "Well you should do it."

"I don't think I had any say but it is kind of interesting to think back on that," Paul responded, adding, "Cause he did it, he did the movie."

DiCaprio would go on to star as Jack Dawson in Titanic, alongside Kate Winslet in her Oscar-nominated role as Rose Dewitt Bukater.

The blockbuster, written and directed by James Cameron, broke box office records, earning a then-record $600.7 million domestic and $2.187 billion worldwide.

Both domestic and global box office records held for 12 years until James Cameron's next film, 2009's Avatar, which earned $760.5 million domestic and $2.789 billion worldwide.