Leonardo DiCaprio birthday: Star Wars, American Psycho and other films turned down by the Oscar winner

Today is the 48th birthday of the much-admired superstar Leonardo DiCaprio. Did you know that the 'Titanic' star turned down many roles in films that later became superhits?
DiCaprio missed out on several opportunities which could have catapulted his career to further heights. However, he's never expressed even an iota of regret through the years.

He became a household name and is often recognised as one of the best actors of his generation, a status effectively guaranteed with blockbuster hits like Titanic, The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street, Inception, Shutter Island, The Revenant and several more that people have loved watching the world over.
He has had the good fortune of working with some of the world’s best directors including Baz Luhrmann, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. His most watched and loved role has definitely come from playing the lead role of Jack Dawson in Titanic. However, he has consistently proven his mettle by acting in some of the best films over the past three decades and has long since established that his performance in Titanic wasn’t just a stroke of luck.

He is also well-renowned for his sophisticated charm. However, did you know that DiCaprio was rejected in over a 100 auditions before he finally got a break in commercials and in TV shows?
Quite ironically, once he became a superstar, he himself started rejecting many films which turned out to be huge box office draws or became cult films in their own right. A case in point is American Psycho, the part eventually being played by Christian Bale. He even turned down the role of Mathew in the Dreamers, which was initially offered to him by Bernardo Bertolucci.
Surprisingly, he was even considered by George Lucas for the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars series, with the lead part eventually being played by Hayden Christensen.
The good news for his fans is that the Academy Award and Golden Globe winning DiCaprio, will be next seen in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which is set to release in 2023.