DiCaprio Turned Down Some Major Films
At the age of 41, Leonardo DiCaprio is without a doubt among the biggest actors of all time, despite never winning an Oscar. His performance in The Revenant is another worthy winner of the award; a role that saw him sleep in animal carcasses and jump into frozen rivers. With the movie out Christmas Day, Shortlist caught up with the actor to ask some all important questions, where he talked about passing roles in some of the biggest blockbuster films.
Did that include playing Robin in Batman Forever? There’s a rumour you screen-tested for it…
I never screen-tested. I had a meeting with Joel Schumacher. It was just one meeting and, no, I didn’t end up doing it.
Did you actually want the role?
Er, I don’t think I did, no (laughs). As I recall I took the meeting, but didn’t want to play the role. Joel Schumacher is a very talented director but I don’t think I was ready for anything like that.
Do you feel like you dodged a bullet?
(Laughs.)
Were you in talks to play Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels?
I did have a meeting with George Lucas about that as well, yes.
What happened?
Same scenario (laughs).
He wanted you, but you didn’t fancy it?
Um, right. Exactly.
Why?
Again, just didn’t feel ready to take that dive. At that point.
How close did you come to playing Spider-Man before your friend Tobey Maguire took the part?
Er, that was another one of those situations, similar to Robin, where I didn’t feel ready to put on that suit yet. They got in touch with me.
Read the full interview HERE.
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