Leonardo DiCaprio Reveals Why He Turned Down ‘Star Wars’ Role

Did you know that Leonardo DiCaprio was up for the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequel films? DiCaprio was originally approached by George Lucas for the role, which eventually went to Hayden Christensen.

“I did have a meeting with George Lucas about that, yes,” he told ShortList. “(I) just didn’t feel ready to take that dive. At that point.”

Leonardo DiCaprio Turned Down Star Wars

DiCaprio, now 41, was just off of 1997’s Titanic at the time, and ‘Leo-mania’ had just ensued with his fans. He admits that sometimes he wonders if it all became too much.

“I’ve thought about that question a lot,” he mused. “A lot of people may look at what I’ve done career-wise and say that there was a period in which I tried to possibly become a movie star, per se, (and) tried to go for much bigger pictures.

“The truth of the matter is, there was a period of time, very early on, when I started watching films and having heroes in the industry, actor-wise. But I feel I’ve been consistent about my dreams and what I wanted to be as an actor.”

Currently DiCaprio is promoting The Revenant, a film that’s already seen him nominated for a Golden Globe, with many predicting an Oscars nod will follow. When he needs a break from the craziness of his life, the star goes on holiday.

“I travel. I’ve been travelling this whole year and going to a lot of cool places that I’ve always wanted to see and experience,” he smiled. “That’s what I do in my off-time. That, and trying to find the next good movie to do. Trying to develop stuff through my production company. Buying rights to films that I think might be interesting. Seeing places in the world and be a part of ecological movements of people. That’s where I spend most of my time when I’m not working.”

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