September 17, 2025
Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly believes that his career could have looked very different only if he had made a smarter choice.
As fans will be aware, the actor is one of Hollywood's most bankable stars, who grew to fame with his blockbuster movie Titanic, cementing his place in Hollywood.
Nonetheless, as per a resurfaced RadarOnline.com report, the actor once regretted turning down the lead role in 1997’s Boogie Nights.
"I just thought it was a masterpiece," the A-listed star reportedly confessed while stating he "can't imagine anyone but Mark [Wahlberg] in it."
The same report discussed how Leonardo nearly missed out on the career-defining role of Jack Dawson alongside Kate Winslet's Rose.
In a 2022 interview with GQ Magazine, director James Cameron revealed how close DiCaprio came to losing the part that catapulted him into global superstardom.
Cameron recalled that while Kate Winslet was quickly locked in as Rose, DiCaprio was less straightforward.
“He came back a couple of days later, and I had the camera set up to record the video,” Cameron explained.
He added, “He didn’t know he was going to test. He thought it was another meeting to meet Kate.”
When the young actor refused to read lines opposite Winslet, Cameron almost ended the audition right there.
However, after some hesitation, DiCaprio agreed to the screen test for the role which made him an international icon.