One of Hollywood’s biggest draws and fan favorites is actor Leonardo DiCaprio. With a career spanning many decades, the celebrity has made an impact right from a young age starting with his Oscar-nominated performance as the mentally challenged brother of Johnny Depp in 1993’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. He then went on to break box office records with films like Titanic, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Revenant, for which he finally won the coveted Oscar. Despite such massive projects in his kitty, the actor has also let go of equally big films, that ultimately created history for other stars.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s loss was Christian Bale’s gain
Leonardo DiCaprio has had the reputation of turning down many prestigious projects during his career. One of the stars who benefited from the Shutter Island actor’s decisions is none other than Christian Bale. The Dark Knight actor in an interview with GQ jokingly stated that,
“Look, to this day, any role that anybody gets, it’s only because he’s passed on it beforehand… So, thank you, Leo, because literally, he gets to choose everything he does. And good for him, he’s phenomenal.”
The story goes that Christian Bale’s iconic role of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho was actually offered to Leonardo DiCaprio. The studio was so keen on the Titanic star doing this role that they ousted the director Mary Harron, who wanted to cast Christian Bale, from the project. The Departed star though, turned down the role due to differences with the new director. The studio then reinstated Mary Harron as the director for American Psycho and she subsequently went back to Christian Bale for the protagonist’s role. This film went on to be a big grosser at the box office and also earned praise from critics.
Leonardo DiCaprio said “No” to these mega-blockbusters too
While Christian Bale went on to gain praise for American Psycho, thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, it is also noteworthy that The Wolf of Wall Street actor has made it a habit of saying no to some extremely illustrious films, many of which are roles of loved superheroes. According to sources, the star was approached to play Spider-Man in 2001, a role that ultimately went to his friend Toney Maguire, making him an overnight sensation. The Aviator actor also passed up on other similar big-budget films like Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever in which he was touted to play Robin. With the star stating that he wasn’t ready to play the role yet, the film cast Chris O’Donnell as Robin.
Leonardo DiCaprio, meanwhile, opted to star in three smaller films that year, The Basketball Diaries, The Quick and the Dead, and Total Eclipse which ended up doing mediocre business. Some of the celebrity’s other big misses include roles like Neo in The Matrix and Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars.
Source: The Things
