No, 'Titanic's Cal Was Not "Misunderstood"

Titanic baddie Cal Hockley has to be one of the best villains in film history. He's eerily realistic and, just by watching him interact with Kate Winslet's Rose at the early stage of their relationship — the point at which we meet them in the classic James Cameron film — you can tell exactly what Rose's future together would hold should she stay with him (hint: nothing good). However, it looks like there's one person who believes Cal may have been "misunderstood," and that is the actor who played him, Billy Zane. In an interview with The Today Show on Tuesday, Zane, decided to try and frame his famed role from a kinder, gentler perspective by actually suggesting that Cal was just "a little misunderstood" in Titanic.

“He was a little misunderstood. I wasn’t the iceberg. I did not drown two-thousand people," Zane joked, while admitting that he's often mistaken as the cruel character in real life. “I think he found redemption in the end, and I wish he had found [Rose] on [the rescue ship] Carpathia and was able to right his wrongs."

OK, so Zane was not denying that Cal was in the wrong in many of his actions throughout the film — but I gotta say, he's not "misunderstood." Sorry, Zane. Why? Because most of his actions over the course of the film are just straight-up unforgivable, and Cal was the actual worst. The reasons for this are as follows:

1. He Was Abusive

He literally slapped Rose across the face and told her what to do. He got violent numerous times!

2. He Tried To Kill Both Rose & Jack (Numerous Times)

Between hand-cuffing Jack to a pole when the ship was sinking to shooting a gun at both Rose and Jack, Cal was literally going to commit murder when he realized Rose was leaving him for Jack.

3. He Only Cared About Money

He was obsessed with getting the Heart of the Ocean back because of its monetary value.

4. He Used A Small Child For His Own Personal Gain

Remember when Cal realized he didn't have a lifeboat because there was a shortage of them on the ship? Well, he essentially stole a random, crying, lost child, claimed it as his own, and lied so that he could get in the lifeboat with the rest of the women and children. He would not have cared whether that child lived or died had he not also been assisted by saving her.

5. He Has Serious Anger Issues

Between screaming, pushing people to their deaths, and flipping tables during a quiet evening of tea, this man really needed to get his emotions in control.

6. He Called Rose Every Word In The Book

Completely unacceptable.

So, any suggestion Cal deserved the opportunity to fix his mistakes on the Carpathia? Nope. This man was just a villain through and through, and that should not be forgotten.

Images: Twentieth Century Fox/Paramount Pictures; Giphy (6)