The sinking of the Titanic on April 14, 1912 remains one of the most tragic catastrophes in human history, and though its desperate signal flare may have burned out over a century ago, public fascination has not. James Cameron's disaster epic Titanic (1997) reignited the passion the public had for the drama, romance, and bone-chilling thrill associated with the historical event.
Titanic perfectly captured the harrowing maiden journey of the world's most famous ocean liner through the compelling narratives of its passengers. The characters he positioned to tell his tale were comprised of both fictional and real historical figures, some of whom survived, and some of whom joined the 1,517 poor souls at the bottom of the ocean.
Updated by Kayleena Pierce-Bohen on Jan. 30, 2022: James Cameron's historical disaster epic Titanic set sail 25 years ago when the maiden voyage of the world's most celebrated ocean liner captured the audience's imagination. Filled with action, romance, and pulse-pounding drama, it recreated the perilous reality of all those involved with the Titanic's tragic journey to America. Did anyone named Jack Dawson really win tickets to make the crossing? Was Caledon Hockley a real person on the Titanic's doomed voyage? From Captain Edward Smith and socialite Molly Brown, to passengers like Fabrizio de Rossi and Tommy Ryan, Cameron selected a colorful mixture of real and fictional characters to tell his story.
Fictional Character: Caledon Hockley
Rose's arrogant and condescending fiancé Caledon Hockley was not a real person aboard the Titanic, but this fictional character was in keeping with the roster of wealthy elites who chartered passage to New York City. As actor Billy Zane noted, Cal Hockley was a "product of his time", and designed by Cameron to be "the sharpest point of the love triangle".
The stateroom that he booked for himself and Rose would have been one of the most luxurious offered to the son of Nathan Hockley at a cost of $4,000 dollars at the time Titanic set sail, the equivalent to a whopping $69,000 dollars today. In Cal's words, he and Rose were considered "royalty".
Real Person: J. Bruce Ismay
The deplorable J. Bruce Ismay, played with stuffy malevolence by Jonathan Hyde, was the managing director and chairman of the White Star Line, and famously declared the ship "unsinkable". As the ship was sinking, he jumped into one of the few available lifeboats and was rowed to safety. Ismay was called to testify before the U.S. Senate after Titanic sank to provide his account of the disaster.
The press harshly criticized Ismay for saving himself when there were women and children still on board, despite the fact that he was asked to help row the lifeboat. Only 706 passengers and crewmen survived Titanic's sinking. 60% of the survivors were first-class passengers (of which Ismay was one), which was more than the combined total of second and third-class passengers.
Fictional Character: Jack Dawson
Intrepid dreamer Jack Dawson was not aboard the Titanic when it set sail, nor was there any account of a charming -but penniless- artist embarking on a love affair with a woman from first class. First class passengers were sequestered from third class passengers for purposes of mitigating the spread of diseases, as well as societal prudence.
According to the harrowing account of survivor Jack Thayer (in his book, 'A Survivor's Tale'), only 1 out of every 36 people who went into the frigid waters was pulled from them. His recollections about the ship's journey, both before and after it sank, helped Cameron piece together what life was like on board the world's grandest vessel.
Real Person: Margaret Brown
The inimitable Kathy Bates brought her charisma and verve to make the already larger than life Margaret Brown even more memorable. The robust socialite became known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" after surviving the 1912 disaster.
Molly Brown gave an emotional plea for her lifeboat to go back and try to rescue passengers bobbing in the water after the ship sank, but historical record cannot confirm with certainty if it was one of the lifeboats to return. She went on to become a social activist, and a U.S. Senate candidate.
Fictional Character: Rose Dewitt Bukater
Rose Dewitt Bukater may not have been a real person, but she was certainly the picture of a young aristocratic lady who boarded Titanic expecting to sail to New York City in the lap of luxury. Historical records indicate third-class passenger Rhoda Abbott was the only female survivor to be pulled from the water after the Titanic sank.
Rose's high-minded ideals may have been at odds with how ladies behaved in the early 20th century, but they gave her character the sort of spirit that captured the essence of what Titanic offered to many passengers; the chance for a new life and a new future.
Real Person: Captain Edward Smith
Captain Edward Smith was a renowned seaman, and the voyage of the Titanic was to be the last he made before retiring. Historical accounts are muddled about whether or not he tried to avoid any ice danger by altering Titanic's course southward, after receiving iceberg warnings from other ships.
Primary sources comprised of first-hand accounts of the tragedy depicted Smith in an admirable light, explaining that he took full responsibility for it, despite the fact that there were several factors working against him.
Fictional Character: Ruth Dewitt Bukater
Rose's social-climbing mother was entirely fictional, but she might as well have been any number of women of the era who, impoverished by the financial choices of their husbands, were forced to make prudent matches (such as pushing her daughter on Caledon Hockley) with their offspring to secure their financial future.
Ruth couldn't understand why her daughter Rose refused to get into a lifeboat with her in order to stay by Jack's side. Meanwhile, when Ira Strauss (the real owner of Macy's department store) couldn't get in one, his wife leaped from hers to be with him. They passed away together in their cabin, which was the basis for the touching scene in the film depicting two elderly people sharing their last moments together.
Real Person: John Jacob Astor
The wealthiest man on board, John Jacob Astor, was found after Titanic's sinking with his solid gold pocket watch still dangling from its chain. It was believed that Astor checked his watch a few minutes before jumping from the ship into the waters below.
Astor's body was one of only 306 bodies recovered from the sinking. He was survived by his real wife Madelaine Force, who was indeed pregnant at the time of the sinking, but who survived and gave birth to his son four months later.
Fictional Character: Spicer Lovejoy
Spicer Lovejoy was Cal Hockley's personal valet as well as his bodyguard. For a fictional character, James Cameron gave him an extensive biography. He had been hired by Cal's father, Nathan Hockley, to watch over his son, after leaving his position as a Pinkerton detective and police constable.
His prior fieldwork made him very perceptive - he noticed Jack Dawson couldn't possibly have had time to remove his shoes and his coat before trying to save Rose's life when she intended to leap from the stern of the ship. He carried a Colt M1911 with specific engravings, which he used to hunt Jack and Rose through the bowels of the ship at Cal's request.
Real Person: Thomas Andrews
The Titanic's designer, Thomas Andrews (Victor Garber), depicted as a sympathetic man who originally designed the ship to have 64 lifeboats, was overshadowed by the demands of his financiers who felt the decks looked too "cluttered". As a result, the cruise ship carried only 20 lifeboats, an important fact which he relayed to Rose before the ship's sinking.
Had only four of the ship's watertight compartments been breached on that fateful night, it would have been able to remain afloat. Unfortunately for all aboard, the iceberg sliced through six compartments. Thomas Andrews handed out life jackets to as many passengers as he could before going down with the ship he built.
Fictional Character: Fabrizio De Rossi
When Jack Dawson wins a lucky hand of poker, he and his friend Fabrizio de Rossi suddenly find themselves with tickets to sail to America aboard the Titanic, and they couldn't be more thrilled. "I go to America!" Fabrizio cries, unbothered by the fact that he'll be traveling as a third-class passenger.
Fabrizio might not have been a real person, but there were plenty of Italian immigrants just like him in Southampton who boarded the Titanic filled with dreams of what their lives would be like once they reached the United States. Unfortunately, just like Fabrizio, they would never see their dreams come true.
Real Person: William Murdoch
The first officer aboard the ship, William Murdoch had a great deal of responsibility under the captain, and he took his work seriously. In the film, he's seen becoming more and more unmoored by the chaos once the Titanic hits the iceberg, and after an unfortunate incident on deck when he's forced to shoot Tommy Ryan, he takes his own life.
There are doubts about whether the real William Murdoch felt so guilty about the altercation that he put a pistol to his temple, especially since no reports of the condition of his body were ever found.
Fictional Character: Tommy Ryan
Tommy Ryan befriended Jack Dawson and Fabrizio de Rossi up on deck when he admired Jack's drawings and chided the artist for having feelings about a first-class passenger, later inviting them to participate in a party thrown by the Irish passengers in steerage.
Though Tommy wasn't a real person aboard the Titanic, he was, like many of the Irish passengers he symbolized, proud of his Irish heritage and the fact that "15,000 Irishmen" built the ship in Belfast. His senseless death at William Murdoch's hands deeply affected everyone around him, and instantly raised the stakes of an already perilous situation.
Real Person: Second Officer Lightoller
When the Titanic began to sink, Second Officer Lightoller sprung into action. It's unknown if he truly said he would, "Shoot you all like dogs" if the passengers didn't maintain order, but he did ensure as many women and children as possible got off the ship alive. He survived the sinking and was technically the last person to be pulled aboard the Carpathia.
He went on to serve in WWI as part of the Royal Navy, commanding three destroyers, and later, in WWII, he came out of retirement to sail one of the "little ships" that were so vital to the evacuation of Dunkirk.