Actor Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the mind-bending thriller "Inception," but did you know he almost played Batman's sidekick Robin? Find out what other roles DiCaprio passed up, plus more fun facts in this list!
15 Facts About Leonardo DiCaprio
At the tender age of 5, Leo appeared on his favorite TV show "Romper Room and Friends" and was nearly thrown off for misbehaving.
Leo grew up in Echo Park, then a particularly seedy, drug-dominated area of Los Angeles.
At age 10, his agent advised him to change his name to a more Lenny Williams. DiCaprio chose to ignore the advice. He got his first major break on the hit TV show "Growing Pains."
Leo screen tested for the part of Robin in the 1995 "Batman Forever." The part eventually went to Chris O'Donnell.
DiCaprio once said that playing Arnie in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" was "the most fun I've ever had". He earned his first Academy Award nomination for the role in the supporting actor category. He has since been nominated for Best Actor for "The Aviator" and "Blood Diamond."
Leo's 10 favorite movies include: "The Bicycle Thief" (1948), "Taxi Driver" (1976), "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "8œ" (1963), "The Third Man" (1949), "Yojimbo" (1961), "Sunset Blvd." (1950), "The Shining" (1980), "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971) and "East of Eden" (1955).
Leo and Kate Winslet have become close friends since starring together in the blockbuster "Titanic." He bought Winslet an inscribed gold ring after they finished filming "Revolutionary Road" together, but she is keeping the inscription a secret.
During the filming of "Blood Diamond," DiCaprio worked with 24 orphaned children from the SOS Children's Village in Maputo, Mozambique, and was said to be extremely touched by his interactions with the children.
"When I was young, I used to have this thing where I wanted to see everything. I used to think, 'How can I die without seeing every inch of this world?'"
Leo purchased a 104-acre island off the coast of Belize in 2005 to build a resort with renewable energy sources. The purchase price for the island, Blackadore Caye, was estimated to be $1.75 million.
He has made four films with director Martin Scorsese: "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator," "The Departed," and "Shutter Island."
Some of His Favorite Things
Leo loves pasta and his favorite drink is lemonade.
Leo was set to star in 2000's "American Psycho" but had to drop it due to scheduling conflicts. Christian Bale took the part instead.
DiCaprio has dated model Kristen Zang and Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen. Since 2005, he has been in an on-and-off relationship with Israeli model and Sports Illustrated swimsuit covergirl Bar Refaeli.
"The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it. It's a great outlet. As for myself, I'm not sure who I am. It seems that I change every day."
