Jack Dawson
Jack Dawson is a penniless artist who is able to board the Titanic after winning tickets in a lucky game of poker. Jack boards the ship with his Italian friend Fabrizio, and also befriends the fellow third-class passenger Tommy Ryan. Jack spots Rose on the ship's decks, and later saves her from taking her own life. At dinner, Jack impresses several of Rose's acquaintances in first class with his carpe diem attitude and zest for life. Rose's mother Ruth detests Jack, viewing him as a potential threat to Rose's impending marriage to Cal. Jack dies in the North Atlantic after saving Rose.
Rose Dawson Calvert
Rose Dawson Calvert is a 101-year old woman and the narrator of the film's main story, which she tells to Brock Lovett and his team of treasure hunters. As a 17-year-old girl, Rose traveled on the Titanic with her mother and her fiancé, Cal Hockley. Rose feels so suffocated by the circumstances of her life that she attempts suicide near the beginning of the film, and is only saved through Jack's interventions. After getting to know and falling in love with Jack, Rose eventually chooses to leave with him, not Cal, when she arrives in America, but Jack passes away when the ship sinks. Rose chooses to take Jack's name—Rose Dawson—upon arriving at Ellis Island.
Cal Hockley
Cal Hockley, the heir to a Pittsburgh steel fortune, attempts to control Rose's behavior and win her over with exorbitant gifts like the Heart of the Ocean diamond. Jealous and distrustful, Cal dispatches his valet Lovejoy to watch Rose's every move, and becomes furious when he learns that she has been cavorting below decks with Jack. Although Rose despises Cal, Ruth views him as a way to salvage what's left of their family name, after being saddled with debts. Cal eventually attempts to kill both Rose and Jack, and procures a lifeboat seat by grabbing an abandoned child and pretending she is his own.
Ruth DeWitt Bukater
Ruth is Rose's imperious, demanding mother, who seems to care about nothing but maintaining her own class status. Like Cal, Ruth attempts to control Rose's behavior, and transform her into an obedient and pliable society girl. Ruth's tries to compensate for her precarious financial position by holding men like Jack and "new money" like Molly Brown in contempt, and by behaving in a flagrantly elitist manner. Ruth frets over whether the lifeboats will be seated by class, causing Rose to choose to remain on the boat rather than leave with her.
Brock Lovett
Brock Lovett is an experienced treasure hunter who leads a team of submersibles down into the Titanic's shipwreck at the beginning of the film. Brock is at first searching for the Heart of the Ocean, a magnificent jewel worth more than the Hope Diamond, but instead finds a drawing of a woman who turns out to be Rose. Rose's story helps Brock realize that his motivating interest in the Titanic prevented him from comprehending the full scope of the human tragedy of the event.
Molly Brown
The character of Molly Brown—nicknamed the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown—is based on the American socialite and philanthropist Margaret Brown, who is best known for trying to persuade the fellow passengers on her lifeboat to turn around and look for survivors. As "new money," Molly is scorned by some of the other first-class passengers, like Ruth and her circle, but retains her warmth and humanity in a way that they do not. Molly sides with Rose in her feuds with Cal, helps Jack find a tuxedo to wear to dinner, and has little patience for the stultifying manners of the upper crust.
Captain Edward John Smith
Captain Edward Smith is based on the British Merchant Navy officer who served as the actual captain of the Titanic. The film shows Captain Smith to be a weak and pliable man, bending to the whims of J. Bruce Ismay, who wants the ship to reach New York a day ahead of schedule in order to make headlines. Smith speeds up the ship and casually ignores iceberg warnings, and is absent when the ship actually strikes the iceberg. Smith realizes that he and many others will die upon learning that the Carpathia will take four hours to reach the Titanic, and accepts his own death by stepping into the wheelhouse just before it floods.
Thomas Andrews
The character of Thomas Andrews is a British businessman and shipbuilder who is based on the real-life ship's naval architect. Unlike J. Bruce Ismay, who is selfishly obsessed with the ship's scale and marketability, Andrews is a humbler, kinder man who is aghast when the ship strikes the iceberg. Andrews tells Rose that he wanted to include more lifeboats on the ship, but was overruled by the White Star Line. As the Titanic's principal architect, Andrews is tasked with convincing Ismay, Captain Smith, and others that the ship will sink. The last time Rose sees him, he is staring at a clock above the mantel in the dining quarters, counting down the minutes until the ship goes under.
J. Bruce Ismay
J. Bruce Ismay is a character based on the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line. The film shows Ismay to be preoccupied with marketing the ship, urging Captain Smith to speed up so that they can arrive in New York early in order to attract favorable press. Ismay is among those who believe the ship is unsinkable, sputtering incredulously when Thomas Andrews tells him gravely that the ship will founder. Ismay sneaks onto a lifeboat being managed by First Officer William Murdoch, and was pilloried in the press as a coward for being the highest-ranking White Star Line official to survive the disaster.
William Murdoch
William Murdoch is the First Officer of the ship, who is in command when the ship strikes the iceberg. Murdoch must inform Captain Smith of the collision, and seems to feel guilty and responsible for not being able to avert the disaster. Murdoch is later tasked with loading the lifeboats, and allows J. Bruce Ismay to sneak onto one lifeboat unchallenged. However, a disgusted Murdoch later rejects Cal's bribes, throwing his cash back in his face. After shooting an innocent bystander in an effort to try to maintain order when loading the boats, Murdoch feels overwhelmed with guilt and desperation, and kills himself.
