“I can remember getting rejected systematically by casting directors”: When Leonardo DiCaprio opened up about feeling like an outsider in Hollywood

Leonardo DiCaprio is easily one of the biggest actors in the history of Hollywood. Working in the entertainment industry since he was merely 15 years of age, the veteran actor has bagged some of the most phenomenal roles that Hollywood had to offer.

However, coming from nowhere, it was not easy for him to get started as an actor. In an interview with Time Out, that dates back to 2016, the actor spoke candidly about the rocky start to his career. Recalling his starting point as a nobody in LA, Leo said that he perpetually felt like an "outsider," who longed to belong to the echelon of famous Hollywood actors.

"I think I will always feel like an outsider...I can remember getting rejected systematically by casting directors as a young kid. I felt like the biggest outsider there ever was; that I’d never belong in that club."

"I can remember getting rejected systematically by casting directors as a young kid," Leo said (Image via IMDb)

However, as is evident, the actor has definitely come a long way indeed, and when asked in the interview whether he feels "blessed" now, Leonardo DiCaprio's responded with an enthusiastic, "Hell, yeah!"

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"I made the same choices when I was 15 that I make now": Leonardo DiCaprio on choice of movies, shooting The Revenant, and on confronting death multiple times

The actor, who was nominated for an Oscar at the age of nineteen, for his performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), said that he knew the road ahead of him wasn't going to be easy. Leonardo DiCaprio also claimed that he had this fantasy that someday he will be inducted into this "elite" club of people, where he will share space alongside the other chosen ones.

"I had this idea that one day they reach out, bless you and say: 'You are now part of this elite, you are the chosen one.'"

The conversation in the interview incidentally veered towards Leonardo DiCaprio's breakthrough performance in Titanic (1997), and the actor went on record to say that the movie marked a movement away from the independent movies that he was doing at the time and meant something very "different" for him.

Leonardo DiCaprio also proceeded to say that he makes the same choices for movies that he did when he had debuted, which reveals a lot about the actor's commitment to his personal vision. Leo also explained that, over the years, his ability to recognize "great directors" or "great material" has gotten better.

"You know, the truth is that my attitude about the films I want to make has never changed. I made the same choices when I was 15 that I make now."

"I made the same choices when I was 15 that I make now," Leo claimed (Image via IMDb)

When the interview took place, The Revenant (2015) had been released and had sparked a lot of conversation in Hollywood because of the gruelling shooting procedure for the movie. Leonardo DiCaprio admitted to actually eating raw liver for one of the scenes in the movie. However, the "real nemesis," the actor claimed, was the "cold."

Rating the hardships that Leo faced while shooting The Revenant on a scale of one to ten, the actor rated it a solid ten, but also acknowledged the fact that he knew exactly what he was stepping into.

"Ten. But we all knew what we were signing up for. We couldn’t recreate this with CGI. We all knew that we were stepping into a “Fitzcarraldo”, “Heart of Darkness” type of experience.’"

Still from The Revenant: "But we all knew what we were signing up for," Leo said (Image via Kimberley French/ 20th Century Fox)

But there was a silver lining to all the ordeal that he had to go through. In the interview, the actor described it as a "religious experience" for being able to go to a place like the Amazon where there's "no civilisation for thousands of miles."

Talking about the couple of "close shaves" that he experienced in his travels, Leonardo DiCaprio said that he is still "just as afraid of dying" and that all those experiences didn't make him any braver.

"There’s nothing intensely profound about it, other than the will to survive."

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) (Image via IMDb)

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Leo on winning an oscar, being an environmentalist, and taking some time off

Awards or prestige, says Leonardo DiCaprio, does not motivate him. The Wolf of Wall Street actor categorically stated that he values the credibility of his performance more than accolades.

"Honestly? It’s never ever what I’m thinking about when I’m making movies. There’s nothing I’ve done for the specific reason of getting an award."

Leonardo DiCaprio has asserted himself as a staunch environmentalist over the years. In the interview, he talked about his climate change awareness documentary and said that climate change is the "most important issue in human history." The actor also said that he is "hopeful" that humans will evolve as species, but remains wary of the "destructive" streak in human nature. Leo has his entire instagram page dedicated to the climate crisis cause.

"I think change is going to have to come from outside. You can’t depend on politicians to make the right decisions."

Finally, talking about what's on his to-do list, the actor said that to "take a little time off" was his immediate priority.

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Fans are hoping to see him on-screen in theatres soon enough.