A child actor from Titanic shared that one of her scenes was cut from the final version after it received a negative reaction from mothers in the test audience.
Directed by James Cameron, Titanic became a defining cultural moment of the late 1990s. It’s hard to imagine pop culture without Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” and the film’s many memorable lines.
The movie stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, depicting a surprising romance between affluent Rose DeWitt Bukater and the third-class passenger Jack Dawson aboard the ill-fated ship.
The film has a loyal fan base that frequently revisits the 1997 classic to relive its magic and spot any bloopers.
In addition to catapulting Winslet and DiCaprio to stardom, Titanic also brought attention to anyone with even a minor role, including Alex Owens-Sarno, who portrayed the young third-class passenger Cora.
Viewers of Titanic likely recall the little girl, Cora, who is fond of Jack, sitting with him as he sketches or feeling envious of Rose during the third-class dance—an event where Jack reassures her that she’s ‘still his best girl’.
The last scene of Cora and her family shows them trapped in the sinking ship’s third-class section, suggesting they did not survive.
Owens-Sarno mentioned that there was initially an extended sequence depicting her character’s drowning.
In a conversation on the ‘After We Wrap’ podcast, she explained: “For me, the thing that lit me up about the Titanic experience in the realm of acting was actually my drowning scene. It was heavily rejected by moms.”
Despite the backlash, James Cameron was determined to include the scene, prompting Owens-Sarno to do her own stunt work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpDWjmid3Io
She added: “It’s a lot. When they were showing [‘Titanic’ to] test audiences, [the audiences] were like, ‘Not her. We will not watch her die.”
Although it didn’t make it into the final cut, she noted that the scene can still be found on YouTube for those interested.
Her role in Titanic marked Owens-Sarno’s first film appearance, and she quickly became recognizable following the movie’s release.
“I started being approached on the street, like, ‘Oh my gosh, are you Cora?’” she recounted. “People see me and know me and recognize who I am.”
Owens-Sarno was not the only one who cherished her involvement in the film; her grandmother often told people, “This is my baby girl, and she was in ‘Titanic’,” beaming with pride over her granddaughter’s participation.