Titanic featured a variety of characters from both the first and third-class sides of the ship, and many of them can be spotted at the end of the movie when Rose (Kate Winslet) returns to the Titanic in what is understood to be her version of heaven. In 1997, James Cameron brought the disaster drama movie Titanic, which at the time became the most expensive movie ever made and with good reason, as Cameron paid attention to every single detail while recreating the Titanic and telling the stories of Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet).
Taking the real-life sinking of the RMS Titanic as inspiration, Titanic tells the fictional love story of Jack and Rose and how they defended their romance from those who looked down on them, and along the way, they met and interacted with different characters from both first and third-class. At the end of Titanic, young Rose reunites with Jack at the Titanic’s Grand Staircase, surrounded by those who died on the sinking of the ship, and some familiar faces can be seen among the crowd, but there’s one character who also died that night and didn’t appear in Titanic-heaven – and here’s everyone who did.
John Jacob Astor IV
One of the first characters that can be seen when the doors to the Grand Staircase in Titanic-heaven open to let Rose and the audience in is John Jacob Astor IV (Eric Braden), Titanic’s richest enger. John Jacob Astor IV was an American real estate developer, investor, writer, and business magnate, who was traveling with his wife, Madeleine Talmage Force, his valet, Madeleine’s maid, her nurse, and their dog. Astor was the one who asked Jack if he was linked to the “Boston Dawsons”, and he was last seen at the Grand Staircase, walking past Benjamin Guggenheim (Michael Ensign), but a deleted scene expanded on that final moment and saw Astor telling Guggenheim he was looking for his dog because his wife asked him to. Right next to Guggenheim in Titanic-heaven is Trudy, Rose’s maid.
Cora & Her Father
Jack’s “best girl” Cora (Alexandrea Owens-Sarno) and her father are also part of Titanic-heaven. Cora was a minor character from third class, but she was shown at different points in the movie, such as at the beginning of Rose’s story as the engers boarded the ship and most notably during the third-class party, where she was dancing with Jack. A deleted scene from Titanic showed Cora and her father’s fate, and it’s a shocking and heartbreaking scene as they couldn’t even get to the deck as the stairs were closed and they were trapped with other third-class engers, so they drowned.
The Titanic’s Band
The Titanic’s band is the protagonist of one of the most memorable scenes from Titanic, as they famously played while the ship began to sink and engers ran all over the place to get in one of the lifeboats. The real band on board the Titanic did play music to calm the engers as the ship sank, but it’s still debated what their last song was. The Titanic’s band have been recognized for their heroism, and they made way for one of the bravest stories from the sinking of the Titanic.
Tommy Ryan
Tommy Ryan (Jason Barry) was an Irish third-class enger who quickly befriended Jack and his best friend Fabrizio (Danny Nucci). Tommy isn’t featured prominently, showing up again at the third-class party, where he met Rose, and later while he and other third-class engers were fighting to get to the deck as they were trapped. Tommy and other male engers tried to get to the lifeboats but First Officer William Murdoch (Ewan Stewart) was trying to get them to stay back while threatening them with a gun. Someone accidentally pushed Tommy and Murdoch shot him, with Tommy dying in Fabrizio’s arms.
Benjamin Guggenheim
Benjamin Guggenheim was a businessman and a wealthy member of the Guggenheim family. Guggenheim is seen during the first class dinner Jack is invited to, and he’s last seen at the Grand Staircase, where he rejects wearing a life vest, saying that he and his valet, Giglio, were “dressed in our best and prepared to go down as gentlemen”. The real Benjamin Guggenheim was reported to have said “we’ve dressed up in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen”, but not before he and Giglio went from lifeboat to lifeboat ensuring that women and children were safely aboard.
Ida & Isidor Strauss
Ida (Elsa Raven) and Isidor (Lew Palter) Strauss were only seen in one scene, but it’s one of the most memorable and heartbreaking ones in the whole movie. Isidor was the owner of R.H. Macy and Company and a former congressman from New York, who died in the sinking of the Titanic alongside his wife as Ida refused to get in a lifeboat, saying she would honor her wedding pledge by staying with Isidor (a moment that was cut from the movie). Ida and Isidor are last seen on their bed, embracing each other as their room was filled with water.
First Officer William Murdoch
First Officer William Murdoch is seen at different points in Titanic, most notably when the ship hit the iceberg (as he was in charge of the bridge that night) and while getting women and children in the lifeboats. As mentioned above, Murdoch tried to keep male engers back as they wanted to get in the lifeboats, and after killing Tommy, Murdoch killed himself. However, it’s unclear if the real William Murdoch was the reported officer who shot himself as the ship sank, but both Cameron’s movie and the 1996 miniseries Titanic portrayed Murdoch as that officer.
Thomas Andrews
Thomas Andrews (Victor Garber) was a British businessman and shipbuilder, as well as the Titanic’s naval architect. Andrews was portrayed as an ally of Rose and Jack, always polite to both and being caring and protective of Rose, becoming one of the most memorable and beloved characters in Titanic. Andrews was last seen in the first-class smoking room lamenting his failure and waiting for the room to be hit by the water. The real Thomas Andrews did what he could to help the engers during the sinking of the Titanic, and he even threw deck chairs into the ocean for people to use as floatation devices.
Fabrizio
Fabrizio was Jack’s best friend, and together they won their tickets to board the Titanic in a very lucky poker game. Fabrizio was briefly seen a couple more times after that, reuniting with Jack when he, Tommy, and other engers were trying to get through the cages to get to the deck. Fabrizio held Tommy when he was shot by Murdock, and later took his life vest. Fabrizio didn’t get to board a lifeboat and was killed when one of the ship’s funnels broke and crashed into the water, crushing him and other engers.
Captain Edward John Smith
Captain Edward John Smith (Bernard Hill) can also be spotted in Titanic-heaven, towards the end of the scene. Smith’s plan was for the Titanic to be his final voyage before retiring, and that took a very sinister turn. Smith is last seen retreating into the wheelhouse on the bridge, where he waited for the windows to implode from the water as he clung to the ship’s wheel. As for what the last moments of the real Captain Smith were like, there are conflicting s, with some saying he stayed in the wheelhouse and others claiming he jumped into the sea.
