Leonardo DiCaprio has starred in some of the most famous films of the last 30 years – but there’s one he regrets turning down.
The Oscar-winning star, 50, has revealed that he rejected the opportunity to star in Boogie Nights, Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 drama about the porn industry. His decision, however, freed him up to star in Titanic.
While the blockbuster success of Titanic shot DiCaprio to Hollywood superstardom, it seems that given the chance to turn back the clocks, the actor would choose Boogie Nights over James Cameron’s film about the doomed ocean liner.
DiCaprio was interviewed by Anderson in a new Esquire profile. Asked if he had “any regrets”, the Wolf of Wall Street star replied: “I’ll say it even though you’re here: my biggest regret is not doing Boogie Nights. It was a profound movie of my generation.”
He continued: “When I finally got to see that movie, I just thought it was a masterpiece. It’s ironic that you’re the person asking that question, but it’s true.”
DiCaprio has long been rumoured to have been Anderson’s first choice for the role of rising porn star Dirk Diggler, who was played by Mark Wahlberg. He added that, despite his regret over declining the part, he “can’t imagine anyone” in the role but Wahlberg.
Boogie Nights, which chronicles the Golden Age of porn of the 1970s, launched Anderson’s career after his modest debut Hard Eight was released in 1996.
The film, which was shot at the same time DiCaprio filmed Titanic, also starred Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John C Reilly, Heather Graham, and Burt Reynolds, who received an Oscar nomination for his role.
Reynolds reportedly distanced himself from the film ahead of his Oscar nomination, and fired his agent for securing him the role. However, before his death in September 2018, he called the film “extraordinary.
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Anderson went on to direct acclaimed films including Magnolia (1999), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Phantom Thread (2017).
The American director’s new film, One Battle after Another, has been 20 years in the making and marks the first time he has ever worked with DiCaprio. It follows a former member of a revolutionary group who seeks help from other revolutionaries to find his missing daughter, and is released on 26 September.
One of the most successful actors of his generation, DiCaprio has been feted with several awards. He won his first Oscar for The Revenant in 2016, and has been nominated a total of six times for films including Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), The Aviator (2004) and 1993 film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, which he starred in when he was 19.
