Leonardo DiCaprio has become one of the most successful actors of his generation, but we almost knew him by an alternative persona.
The Oscar-winner was invited onto Jason and Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast, which aired yesterday (September 24), alongside Benicio del Toro to promote their upcoming movie One Battle After Another, which is set for release at theaters in the US and UK tomorrow.
But while on the show he was asked by the NFL stars to touch on any ‘holy s***’ moment he has came across in his illustrious career.
“I remember auditioning when I was very young, I was like a child actor – my my stepbrother was an actor,” the 50-year-old explained.
“And there were these acting agents that would line you up like cattle and they just go – and I was a break dancer, I’d break dance for like money on the streets sometimes, I had like the step haircut – it was like ‘yes, yes, no’; and they look at me, ‘no’, and then a ‘yes, yes, yes’ – and they all got agents.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro revealed that they were both urged to go by stage names rather than use their own names (YouTube/New Heights)
“And I remember saying to my dad, this is horrible. I went back and they did it again, ‘yes, yes, no, no’. And I just remember my dad saying, you know, ‘someday you’re going to have your time, son. Just keep at it, keep at it’.”
The star continued: “And then they gave me my, [turning to speak to del Toro] you remember your first photos that you had? And they said, ‘your name is too – I finally got an agent – they said your name is too ethnic’.
“I go, ‘what do you mean, it’s Leonardo DiCaprio‘. They go, ‘no too ethnic, they’re never going to hire. Your new name is Lenny Williams’. I said, ‘what is, what is Lenny?’. I was 12 or 13. I said, ‘what is Lenny Williams?’ ‘We took your middle name and we made it your – now you’re Lenny’.
“And my dad saw his photo, ripped it up, and he said, ‘Over my dead body.'”
While those agents will be sure to rue their mistakes, it seems as if he wasn’t the only A-lister to be told to change his name, as del Toro revealed the same happened to him.
“I was told the same thing,” he shared. “‘Benny Dell, yeah – Mr Dell!”
Shocked, Jason Kelce replied: “Oh my gosh. This podcast would not be the same with Lenny Williams and Benny Dell – I’ll tell you that right now.”
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