The one actor Leonardo DiCaprio is scared of: “He looks like he really knows this shit”
Hollywood has always maintained its heartthrobs, and the 1990s had no shortage. For some reason, the decade of grunge and Britpop seemed to place a heavy focus on the image, with a new crop of supermodels emerging and the entertainment industry championing its most floppy-haired, boyish-looking stars.
One of the most coveted heartthrobs of the era was undeniably Leonardo DiCaprio. The actor was loved by many due to his blonde hair and friendly appearance, but he was also highly regarded for his talents. He rose to prominence in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, playing a young disabled boy, before starring as a heroin addict in The Basketball Diaries. Clearly not scared to tackle challenging roles, especially at the start of his career, DiCaprio quickly impressed critics.
The latter half of the decade saw him appear in movies like Romeo + Juliet and Titanic, shooting him to global stardom. He became one of the most recognisable actors in the world, leading him to appear in more acclaimed movies, like Catch Me If You Can, The Departed, Inception, The Revenant and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
DiCaprio has collaborated with three directors more than once, the most prominent being Martin Scorsese, with whom he has collaborated seven times. He has also worked with Baz Luhrmann and Quentin Tarantino twice, and his collaborations with the latter have become some of his best roles of all time.
Not only did he play one of the main characters in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, but he also starred as the villainous Calvin Candie in Django Unchained. Here, he met Jamie Foxx, who played the titular character, and they became friends. It was during one hang-out that DiCaprio confided in the actor and revealed that he is actually rather scared of a specific star.
Talking to Thrillist’s Off Script, Foxx revealed to Denzel Washington, “Leonardo DiCaprio told me one day, he says ‘You know what pal you know who I am scared of? Denzel, buddy. Because he looks like he really knows this shit, he looks like he’ll fucking tear your trachea out or some shit.” Washington has never worked with DiCaprio, perhaps to the relief of the latter.
Certainly, Washington is an accomplished star who knows what he’s doing, having earned nine Academy Award nominations and winning two (for Glory and Training Day). He is a highly versatile actor, successfully playing both heroic and villainous roles. Perhaps DiCaprio’s fear comes from the fact that Washington’s acting skills are just too good – when he plays a bad guy, he really goes for it, and it’s hard not to find him incredibly intimidating in these roles.
One of these is Training Day, in which he plays Alonzo Harris, a manipulative police officer who manages to present himself in such a charmingly cunning way that he is able to commit various crimes seamlessly. That is arguably more unnerving than a character who is much more obvious and outwardly violent. Still, a movie starring both DiCaprio and Washington would undoubtedly be brilliant – perhaps the actor just needs to familiarise himself with some of Washington’s less frightening roles first.