The Gist
Leonardo DiCaprio opened up about his early career while making his first-ever podcast appearance during a New Heights interview.
Chatting with Travis and Jason Kelce, DiCaprio revealed why he almost changed his name early on in his career.
He also opened up about the “horrible” experience of being a break dancer before he got famous.
Leonardo DiCaprio has been a household name since he first broke out in 1993 with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. A star turn in Romeo & Juliet and Titanic a few years later cemented him as a late ‘90s teen heartthrob (and garnered significant interest in his dating history), but the actor and environmentalist has earned plenty of award season accolades in recent years, including DiCaprio’s 2016 Oscar win for The Revenant. While DiCaprio’s moniker has become his calling card (and even a lyric in a Taylor Swift song), the Killers of the Flower Moon actor revealed that he almost changed his name early onin his career.
While making his first-ever podcast appearance on Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, DiCaprio joined director Benicio de Toro to promote their upcoming action movie, One Battle After Another. The Kelce brothers were visibly giddy about meeting the A-list star, who is currently dating model Victoria Ceretti. And DiCaprio leaned into the conversation, chatting about the similarities between actors teaming up with directors and football players with coaches, as well as his early days in the film industry.
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Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic in 1997
DiCaprio admitted that he initially struggled to find footing with being an actor, reflecting on his “horrible” experience with rejection as a break dancer. When he did get an agent when he was 12 years old, Leo said that he was advised to change his name to Lenny Williams in a play on his middle name, Wilhelm.
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Leonardo DiCaprio attends the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’ 14th Annual Governors Awards in 2024
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Leonardo DiCaprio with Claire Danes in ‘Romeo & Juliet’ in 1996
“I finally got an agent. They said, ‘Your name is too ethnic. I go, ‘What do mean? It’s Leonardo DiCaprio,’” he recalled. “They go, ‘No, too ethnic. They’re never gonna hire you. Your new name is Lenny Williams.’”
While fans might have grown up with a Lenny Williams playing Jack in Titanic and Dom in Inception, DiCaprio said his dad put a stop to the decision. “And my dad saw his photo, ripped it up, and he said, ‘Over my dead body,’” he shared.
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