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Leonardo DiCaprio had the chance to play the lead role of Max Dennison in 1993 cult classic fantasy comedy movie Hocus Pocus, but ultimately turned it down. While it’s too bad that we missed out on the chance to see the actor repeatedly mocked for being a virgin in this beloved Halloween hit, it’s ultimately worth it to see the star he has become today, and clearly DiCaprio feels the same way.
In a TikTok featuring a clip from a resurfaced 2014 interview for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, the now 48-year-old Academy Award winning actor alluded to Hocus Pocus and the role he doesn’t regret turning down.
“There was a big Disney movie that they wanted me to do, and I don’t know where I got those little balls at 16-years-old,” he said before adding, “if there’s one thing that I’m really proud of in my entire career, it’s that moment at 16 to say that and do that and have that sort of conviction of what I wanted to do.”
DiCaprio turned down the Hocus Pocus role and hefty check attached so he could keep himself in the running for the role of Arnie Grape in 1993 coming-of-age drama film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Not only did DiCaprio ultimately earn the role of Arnie, but he also received acclaim and award recognition, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, for his work in the film.
The role of Hocus Pocus‘ teenaged Los Angeles transplant and inadvertent resurrector of three villainous witches, Max Dennison, ultimately went to Omri Katz. While the film (which also stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Thora Birch, and Vinessa Shaw) was a box office bomb upon its initial release, it remains beloved for viewers at home as a Halloween time must-watch.
