Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the greatest actors of his generation, with a total of five Oscar nominations. It’s no surprise that he would be offered giant tentpole films, especially one that is part of the most inspiring trilogy in the history of cinema. While George Lucas was putting together the Star Wars prequels, a role was offered to Leonardo DiCaprio — Anakin Skywalker. But as tempting as it may have been to play one of cinema’s greatest and iconic villains, DiCaprio turned it down, Entertainment Weekly reports.
“I did have a meeting with George Lucas about that, yes,” he says, during an interview with Shortlist. “I just didn’t feel ready to take that dive. At that point.”
This wouldn’t be the only big, iconic role the Revenant actor shied away from.
Leonardo DiCaprio, prior to this, spoke and met with director Joel Schumacher to possibly play the role of Robin in what many now consider to be the worst superhero movie of all time, Batman Forever. If keeping score, that would be two colossal bullets Leo dodged.
“I never screen-tested,” DiCaprio said. “I had a meeting with Joel Schumacher. It was just one meeting and, no, I didn’t end up doing it.”
“Er, that was another one of those situations, similar to Robin, where I didn’t feel ready to put on that suit yet,” Leo says. “They got in touch with me.”
So that’s a pass on Robin, Darth Vader, and Spider-Man. That would be a dream come true for most actors, though the ending result of all three properties were met with plenty of mixed emotions. But there may very well be more iconic names the actor passed on during his career. With that being said, Leo isn’t necessarily opposed to putting on tights and saving the world in a giant superhero franchise.
“You never know,” he says. “You never know. They’re getting better and better as far as complex characters in these movies. I haven’t yet. But no, I don’t rule out anything.”
But he isn’t out to prove anything to anyone, he says, nor does he think that’s what audiences want from actors. He pays very little attention to the critical and audience consensus, regarding his acting or his films.
[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]