Reba McEntire Reveals the Real Reason She Turned Down ‘Titanic’ Role of Molly Brown

Reba McEntire‘s fans know that the country icon is a talented actress as well as a singer, so much so that she was originally offered the role of the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic.

Speaking to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live last week, McEntire explained why she had to turn down the opportunity, discussing the fact that the movie’s filming schedule and her own touring plans just didn’t line up.

“We were on tour and I had a lot of people on the payroll and we had these three months to do the movie,” she recalled. “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.”

In the end, the role was played by Kathy Bates, and the movie went on win 11 Oscars and become a box office sensation, earning over $2 billion. When Cohen asked McEntire whether the film’s success killed her a little, she replied, “Well, sure, absolutely.”

“But you got to take care of your people,” she added.

At the time, McEntire had just stepped into acting, appearing in films like North, Tremors and The Little Rascals. A few years after Titanic, McEntire landed her most well-known role to date, playing the character of Reba Hart on the sitcom Reba, which ran from 2001-2007.

While she may have not made it into one of the biggest movies of all time, McEntire is unequivocally one of the most successful country singers of all time, having sold over 75 million records worldwide. She’s referred to as “The Queen of Country” and has released 29 studio albums, 28 of which have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum. She has three Grammy Awards and holds the records for most CMA Awards nominations by a female performer with 50 and most ACM Awards nominations for a female performer with 47.

This year, she’ll return to host the ACM Awards on April 7 for the 16th time, two days after releasing her upcoming album, Stronger Than the Truth.

Calling the project “the most country album I’ve ever recorded,” McEntire shared that the album was inspired by her upbringing in Oklahoma.

“I grew up on an 8,000-acre family ranch singing at dance halls, honky-tonks and rodeos with my brother and sister,” she said. “Stronger Than the Truth takes me back to that kind of country music that I grew up with. I haven’t gotten to do that in a while, so I’m thrilled to pieces to release this new music.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Santiago Felipe