Leonardo DiCaprio Says ‘My Biggest Regret’ Is Turning Down ‘Boogie Nights’ Offer 30 Years Ago

DiCaprio
Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images

Leonardo DiCaprio got interviewed by his “One Battle After Another” director Paul Thomas Anderson for the actor’s latest Esquire magazine cover story and revealed that his biggest career regret is turning down Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” offer nearly 30 years ago. DiCaprio was Anderson’s original pick to play Eddie Adams, the high-school drop out who becomes one of the porn industry’s most popular stars under the name Dirk Diggler. But DiCaprio was already committed to “Titanic,” a role that would turn him into a global movie star.

“I’ll say it even though you’re here: My biggest regret is not doing ‘Boogie Nights,’” DiCaprio admitted. “It was a profound movie of my generation. I can’t imagine anyone but Mark [Wahlberg] in it. 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 [about regrets], but it’s true.”

As the story goes, Anderson wanted DiCaprio in “Boogie Nights” after watching the young actor in 1995’s “The Basketball Diaries.” When he turned down the role, DiCaprio told Anderson to consider casting his “Basketball Diaries” co-star Mark Wahlberg instead. The rest is history.

Now, here DiCaprio and Anderson are 30 years later with “One Battle After Another,” their first film collaboration that opens in theaters this September. DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a washed-up revolutionary fighting to save his teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti).

“Why did it take us so long?” Anderson asked DiCaprio about them working together.

“I know ‘One Battle After Another’ has been on your desk for a long time,” DiCaprio responded. “It was a personal story for you in a lot of ways and certainly pertinent to the world that we’re living in right now. But ultimately, wanting to do this movie was pretty simple: I’ve been wanting to work with you—Paul—for something like twenty years now, and I loved this idea of the washed-up revolutionary trying to erase his past and disappear and try and live some sort of normal life raising his daughter.”

Anderson also asked DiCaprio if he ever watches any of his old movies. The Oscar-winning actor admitted that “I rarely watch any of my films, but if I’m being honest, there’s one that I have watched more than others. It’s ‘The Aviator.’ That’s simply because it was such a special moment to me.”

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“The Aviator” marked the second collaboration between DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese. DiCaprio played business tycoon Howard Hughes in the biographical drama and earned an Oscar nomination for best actor.

“I had worked with Marty [Scorsese] on ‘Gangs of New York,’ and I’d been toting around a book on Howard Hughes for ten years,” DiCaprio explained. “I almost did it with Michael Mann, but there was a conflict and I ended up bringing it to Marty. I was thirty. It was the first time as an actor I got to feel implicitly part of the produc­tion, rather than just an actor hired to play a role. I felt responsible in a whole new way. I’ve always felt proud and connected to that film as such a key part of my growing up in this industry and taking on a role of a real collaborator for the first time.”

“One Battle After Another” opens in theaters Sept. 26 from Warner Bros. Head over to Esquire’s website to read DiCaprio and Anderson’s full conversation.

From Variety US