One of the most important and talented performers of his generation, Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in almost too many iconic roles to name. Which is interesting to think about, because he’s also a very selective performer. It’s absolutely quality over quantity with him.
Let’s take a look at some of the most iconic roles in movie history that DiCaprio was offered…and turned down.
Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho’
This one actually has a fascinating rumor behind it. The studio brought DiCaprio on for the role against director Mary Harron’s wishes, who staunchly defended Christian Bale for the part. Harron was let go from the project over these differences, and Oliver Stone was hired to take her place alongside DiCaprio.
The rumor then goes, according to film co-writer Guinevere Turner, the late activist, Gloria Steinem, took DiCaprio to a baseball game and advocated against him doing the movie. Reportedly, she cited DiCaprio’s massive fan base of teenage girls post-Titanic that would feel alienated by him doing a film with such brutal violence against women. DiCaprio eventually dropped out, resulting in Harron and Bale being brought back on to make the project. A lot of the Steinem story is hearsay, but it’s an intriguing possibility nonetheless.
Anakin Skywalker in ‘Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones’
‘Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones’Credit: Walt Disney Studios
DiCaprio did, in fact, confirm that he met with George Lucas about the iconic role of Anakin Skywalker back in the early 2000s. Even though he accepted the conversation with Lucas, he ultimately wasn’t interested in taking the role and turned it down.
To add to the already concrete proof that DiCaprio’s motivations always lie with the artists he works with, and the ability to feel fulfilled in the role, DiCaprio went on to do two movies in 2002, the year Star Wars was released. Gangs of New York by Martin Scorsese and Catch Me If You Can were both critically acclaimed, and drew lots of awards buzz, so following his hunch served DiCaprio more than well this time around.
Robin in ‘Batman Forever’
This alternate reality might be the most trippy to think about having happened. After DiCaprio’s Oscar nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, he began the obligatory process of being offered and denying superhero roles left and right. The first offer came to play Batman’s sidekick Robin in Joel Schumacher’s first Batman film, Batman Forever.
Imagining DiCaprio in not only this movie, but slinging puns left and right in Batman and Robin is enough to make you laugh violently to yourself, and it appears DiCaprio saw things relatively similarly. He turned down the role and went on to do three smaller films the year that Batman Forever came out: The Quick and the Dead, The Basketball Diaries, and Total Eclipse.
Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man’
‘Spider-Man’Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing
This role seemed to be close to the last straw when it came to offering superhero parts to Leo. In addition to Robin, he also turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix, which, while not exactly a superhero, set a precedent for a long time for the roles that people attempted to offer him.
DiCaprio himself has offered a more gracious explanation, saying of both Robin and Peter Parker that he just wasn’t ready to put on a superhero costume and be associated with something that would take up so much of his schedule. Thankfully, it all obviously worked out since the role went to DiCaprio’s real-life good friend, Tobey Maguire, and his career skyrocketed to the top.
Dirk Diggler in ‘Boogie Nights’
No shade is meant to Mark Wahlberg’s performance in Boogie Nights here, but this is the first role where I actually really would like to see a world where DiCaprio accepted this part, as I think he would have fit it quite well.
Funnily enough, this seems to be the role that has eaten away at DiCaprio the most for taking down, despite what he did instead. He dropped out of Boogie Nights to do Titanic, which he has repeatedly said he does not regret at all, but, like us, there has definitely been some rumination on his end about what could have been. Thankfully, everything happens for a reason, because DiCaprio finally got to work with Paul Thomas Anderson just last year on his Best Picture-winning film, One Battle After Another.
