Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio are among some of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood. And their fans had the joy of seeing their favorite stars together on the screen in the 1995 film The Basketball Diaries and the 2006 crime drama The Departed. Although they featured in two movies together and even portrayed best friends in their first movie, the duo was reportedly not very fond of each other.
The issues among The Basketball Diaries co-stars reportedly started during an MTV Rock and Jock basketball game. And it only got worse after the Uncharted star showed up eight hours late on the set of their 1995 film.
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Mark Wahlberg Pissed Leonardo DiCaprio By Being Late
Before Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the Oscar-winning film The Departed, they shared the screen in the 1995 biographical crime drama The Basketball Diaries. Based on the novel of the same name, the movie follows the downward spiral of a promising high school basketball player, Jim Carroll.
DiCaprio starred in the lead role, and Wahlberg portrayed his best friend, Mickey, in the movie. The Ted star has shared that his co-star was not very enthusiastic to work with and even opposed him being cast in the film. And soon, he was able to realize that it was due to the 1991 MTV Rock and Jock basketball game.
“I was a punk. I was a prick. I was not nice to Leo that day,” he told HuffPost, talking about the basketball game. The makers were somehow able to convince the Titanic star to read with Wahlberg. However, he once again “pissed” the Oscar winner after he showed up eight hours late to the film’s table reading.
The Shooter star stated that it happened due to a huge snowstorm in New York, and he had to go to “Puerto Rico for the weekend.” Later, his flight got canceled, causing him to be late for the table read. “I show up late, he’s sitting there, pissed,” he shared. However, they got together well after doing some scenes together and started filming the movie.
Mark Wahlberg And Leonardo DiCaprio Eventually Became Friends
While Leonardo DiCaprio was not willing to star alongside Mark Wahlberg in The Basketball Diaries, the Transformers star later shared that he also did not feel that DiCaprio was the right actor to lead the 1995 film. “He wasn’t a New York street guy basketball player,” he said during his interview with HuffPost.
However, the feeling left as soon as they started reading their scenes. Wahlberg said, “But we started reading the scenes — and I looked at him, and he looked at me — and I was like, ‘Oh sh*t. This guy is good.” The duo has grown to be good friends since starring in the 1995 film.
The Departed star has said that while working on the movie, they had to learn to respect each other, and they have “earned it.” He also shared that DiCaprio suggested his name for the 1996 thriller Fear after filmmaker James Foley approached him for the role. The Oscar nominee reminisced about their friendship on the set of The Basketball Diaries as he shared a clip from the set of the 1995 film on his Instagram.
The Basketball Diaries is not available on a streaming service yet.
The Departed is available on Netflix.
Source: HuffPost
