With roles in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Romeo + Juliet, and, of course, Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio has already become a major star in the 1990s. Since then, after appearing in countless blockbusters, he has gained even more stardom and recognition. At the same time, Michael Mann, the acclaimed director best known for his work on The Last of the Mohicans, Thief, Heat, and Collateral, was also at the height of his fame.
The director, now 80, had intended to make a movie about James Dean’s life, and he believed he had found the ideal actor (the Titanic star) to play him, but the project was never completed.
For those who do not know, James Dean was an American actor who worked for five years. His most well-known performance was in Rebel Without a Cause as the troubled teen (Jim Stark) and later in Giant, which earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
However, Dean tragically lost his life in a 1955 collision with another car while speeding along a congested California road. The actor sincerely deserved to be the subject of a biopic, and one almost happened.
In an interview with Deadline, Mann shared why his James Dean biographical film with DiCaprio never took place.
Leonardo Dicaprio Almost Played James Dean In Michael Mann’s Abandoned Film
Michael Mann was apparently motivated to sign on to direct a James Dean biopic in 1993 because of his interest in movies about real-life people battling their personal demons. Leonardo DiCaprio, who was only 19 at the time, made headlines that year when he starred in Lasse Hallström’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? which led to his first Oscar nomination.
And while Mann would audition a variety of actors for the tragically brief-lived star of Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden, it did not take him long to choose DiCaprio as his top choice.
The only issue was that Mann thought DiCaprio looked a little too young to play the role of the mature Dean. Similar to how he described The Revenant actor’s youthful appearance in an interview with Deadline, the 80-year-old director said that it “respectfully undid” his James Dean biopic:
“That was so weird about James Dean. It was a brilliant screenplay. And then it’s who the hell could play James Dean? And I found a chap who could play James Dean, but he was too young. It was Leo. We did a screen test that’s quite amazing. I think he must’ve been 19 at the time. And from one angle, he totally had it with him. I mean, it’s brilliance.”
DiCaprio might have become acclaimed for playing James Dean in his biopic if events had gone in a different direction.
Why Was Michael Mann Keen On Casting Leonardo DiCaprio?
Michael Mann praised Leonardo DiCaprio for his brief portrayal of James Dean and claimed that the actor’s success was entirely attributable to his expressive facial features. According to The Keep director, DiCaprio could mimic the late actor by instantly changing his expressions and emotions. As he said:
“He would turn his face in one direction and we see a vision of James Dean, and then he’d turn his face another direction and it’s no, that’s a young kid. I found the absolutely perfect act of the play, in about three years from that. He respectfully undid the James Dean bio for me.”
Mann and DiCaprio have reason to be unhappy with the way things turned out because the director went on to deliver a number of lucrative movies in addition to his masterpiece, Heat.
Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, and Collateral, among others, have solidified Michael Mann’s reputation as one of Hollywood’s top directors.
Meanwhile, we will next see DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in the crime drama film, Killers of the Flower Moon, directed and produced by Martin Scorsese.
The film is slated to release on October 6, 2023.
Source- Deadline
