Sometimes you've got to go to the wrong place just to show that you're not afraid to go there.

Esquire, March 2010
Leonardo DiCaprio's Essentials

"My audition was supposed to go on, but they just stopped it. Even though De Niro said he liked it, I left the room thinking, Oh, shit, I'm a laughingstock. I'm buried. I'm done. Getting that part felt like winning the lottery. Sometimes you've got to go to the wrong place just to show that you're not afraid to go there."

"When I was eighteen, River Phoenix was far and away my hero. Think of all those early great performances - My Own Private Idaho. Stand by Me. I always wanted to meet him. One night, I was at this Halloween party, and he passed me. He was beyond pale - he looked white. Before I got a chance to say hello, he was gone, driving off to the Viper Room, where he fell over and died. That's a lesson."

"At the hotel, I get a three-page letter from Bernard Picasso. It says, "Speaking with such clarity was the true spirit of what my grandfather embodied. Your grandmother has worked too hard her entire life to make friends for the sake of who they are. That's what I love about her. Please bring her back." I don't think I'm capable of honesty to the extent of my grandmother. But people tell me I have that quality."


This interview made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Leonardo DiCaprio is a great man.