We are huge fans of Leo here at SoSueMe and we know you guys are too, so we decided a blog post was in order!
From his near death experiences to the role he was offered in Hocus Pocus, here are ten things you might not have known about Hollywood’s golden boy!
1/ Britney DiCaprio?
Leo is currently being wooed by Britney!
Like every other woman on the planet, Britney is a big fan of Leo and is keen to get a date him. Earlier this year, she tried to catch his attention by posting a #TBT picture of them hanging out together.
Apparently, she has also sent him tickets to her Vegas show. Britney isn’t the only one actively trying to get Leo’s attention. A Russian millionaire paid almost €2 million to go on a space trip with the Oscar winner!
2/ “Spoiled Punk”
Titanic director James Cameron had a few run in’s with Leo.
He said the star looked like a “spoiled punk” because he refused to go to the Oscars the year Titanic was nominated. Leo apparently didn’t see the point in attending if he wasn’t individually nominated.
Cameron said at the time, “He didn’t go, and he looked a spoiled punk. The message I got on my machine the day before said: ‘It just ain’t me bro’.”
The two also had their fair share of clashes during the filming of Titanic.
On one occasion, prankster Leo is said to have poured a bucket of iced water over Cameron. Cameron didn’t see the funny side however.
3/ His mum has the final say on girlfriends
He is extremely close to his mother Irmelin and grandmother, Helene.
If a girlfriend doesn’t get their approval, Leo will immediately call things off. Even his long term girlfriend Gisele Bundchen is said to have worked tirelessly to impress them!
Apparently the only girlfriend Leo’s mum ever fully approved of was model Bar Rafaeli.
4. American Psycho?
Leo was originally offered the role of Patrick Bateman in the film American Psycho.
It was said at the time that Leo turned down the lucrative part because he was concerned that his fan base was primarily teenage girls and that such a role would be inappropriate.
The role subsequently went to Christian Bale.
Funnily enough, Christian Bale auditioned for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic but lost out to Leo! According to people who have worked with Christian, he’s far from Leo’s biggest fan and views him as his number 1 rival.
5/ He nearly died … 3 times!!
On the one occasion he tried parachuting, his parachute failed to open. His back up parachute got tangled and also failed to open.
Luckily it was a tandem parachute so his instructor was able to rescue the situation. Prior to him doing so however Leo admitted he was certain that he was plummeting to his death.
On another occasion, he was on a flight to Russia when the engine exploded and the wing caught fire! He told The Ellen Show that the wing turned into a fireball following the engine explosion. After 45 minutes of dumping fuel, the pilot restarted the second engine and made an emergency landing in New York.
Leo’s third brush with death involved a great white shark in South Africa. And he has it all on video!
Recalling the incident, he said, “A great white jumped into my cage when I was diving… Half of its body was in the cage, and it was snapping at me. It jumped up and grabbed the tuna, and half its body landed inside the cage with me. I sort of fell down to the bottom and tried to lie flat. The great white took about five or six snaps an arm’s length away from my head. The guys there said that has never happened in the 30 years they’d been doing it.”
6/ Leo & Kate
Just when we thought we couldn’t possibly love Leo and Kate any more than we already do, we learn that they helped pay the nursing home fees for the last living survivor of the Titanic so that she wouldn’t have to sell her beloved mementos to raise the funds.
7/ Height
You wouldn’t think it, but Leo is just over 6ft tall. Something else you might not know, his middle name is Wilhelm!
8/ Film flop
It’s hard to imagine Leo in a film flop, but he and his pal Tobey Maguire once starred in a film that was so bad, they both sought legal action to prevent it from being released on DVD.
9/ Spiderman
When James Cameron wrote the script for Spiderman, he did so with Leo in mind to play the lead role!
Leo turned it down as he felt he wasn’t ready for that type of role. He also turned down the roles of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, and Robin in Batman & Robin.
10/ He could have been in Hocus Pocus
Leo was offered the role of Max Dennison in Hocus Pocus but he turned it down as he wanted to do ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape!’ instead.
His performance in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape!’ resulted in an abundance of critical acclaim as well as an Academy Award nomination for 19 year old Leo, however he still can’t figure out how he got “the nerve” to turn down Hocus Pocus which came with an offer of “more money than I ever dreamed of.”
He once told Variety Magazine, “I don’t know where I got the nerve. You live in an environment where you’re influenced by people telling you to make a lot of money and strike while the irons hot. But if there’s one thing I’m very proud of, it’s being a young man who was sticking to my guns.”
