Leonardo DiCaprio turned down “a lot of money” for this role

This Sunday August 13, 2023 at 9 p.m., Arte is broadcasting Gilbert Grape. A film that launched the career of Leonardo DiCaprio. At the time, the actor notably refused a large sum of money for this role in a Disney cult Halloween production.

He shot for the camera of the greatest filmmakers in Hollywood, from Steven Spielberg (Stop me if you can) to Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island) via Christopher Nolan (Inception) and Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood). Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the iconic figures of 21st century cinema. In 2016, his stratospheric performance in The Revenant, by Alejandro González Iñárritu, the best actor Oscar crown, which had eluded him for so many years (three nominations). This Sunday August 13, 2023 at 9 p.m., Arte invites viewers to return to the dawn of the career of this immense actor with the broadcast of Gilbert Grape (also available on Arte.tv). In the casting, Johnny Depp gives the reply to the very young Leonardo DiCaprio, whom he confides to having “torture” on the set of the film, and to Juliette Lewis, currently starring in the series Yellowjackets.

How old was Leonardo DiCaprio in Gilbert Grape ?

In 1993, Lasse Hallström embarked on the adaptation of the eponymous novel by Peter Hedges entitled What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, in English). In this drama, Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) takes on the role of head of household after his father dies to compensate for his morbidly obese mother’s inability to care for her children. Among them, his youngest son, Arnie, suffering from a mental handicap. In this role, the spectators discover a promising Leonardo DiCaprio, just 19 years old, who splashes with his talent. The young actor, who explodes in the eyes of the world in titanic four years later, was also nominated for the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor that year. No doubt, this Gilbert Grape propels Leo takes center stage.

“I don’t know where this boldness came from. When Leonardo DiCaprio says no to Disney

Before saying yes to Lasse Hallström for Gilbert Grape, Leonardo DiCaprio and his youthful faces seduce the Walt Disney Company for a completely different type of production, more incredible and general public. The film ? Hocus Pocus, a classic from the 90s and the Halloween period. However, the young actor, still unknown to the battalion, does not deflate and refuses all the same the tempting offer of the firm with big ears. In any case, this is what he entrusts in an interview to variety in 2014 : “I don’t know where this boldness came from. I was offered a lot of money to do Hocus Pocus and honestly, I don’t know where I found the courage to refuse. It’s hard when everyone keeps telling you that you can make a lot of money signing up for a movie. I am proud today to have been a young man who said no to a big production and who assumed this choice“. Winning bet for Leo, whose immense career is no longer presented.