Once upon a time in Hollywood, Paul Thomas Anderson offered Leonardo DiCaprio the role of a lifetime.
On Wednesday, the actor, 51, shared the moment he learned about the 1997 film “Boogie Nights.”
At Time magazine’s “A Year in Time” event, per The Hollywood Reporter, DiCaprio recounted “meeting Paul very early on in my career, when I was about to go do ‘Titanic,’ but we were talking about doing ‘Boogie Nights.’”
“I was in my mother’s living room, and I’ll never forget,” shared the Oscar winner, “I was on the couch and he brought a LaserDisc of ‘Raging Bull’ and a video cassette of pornography. And he said, ‘I want to do the ‘Raging Bull’ of pornography.’”
DiCaprio was only in his early 20’s and had starred in “This Boy’s Life” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993), and 1996’s “Romeo + Juliet” and “Marvin’s Room.”
At the time, the “Wolf of Wall Street” star confided in his close pal Martin Scorsese about the idea of doing “Boogie Nights.”
The filmmaker, 83, directed “Raging Bull” (1980), which followed the life of boxer Jake LaMotta, played by Robert De Niro.
“I thought to myself, ‘Wow, that’s going to be pretty difficult,’” DiCaprio told Scorsese. “But you’ve been close to him over the years, and there’s so much commonality in the way both of you work.”
The “Inception” actor ended up turning down the role of Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler in “Boogie Nights” to play Jack in James Cameron’s “Titanic.”
Mark Wahlberg, 54, portrayed the lead in the film about a young busboy who becomes a porn star.
The movie was nominated for three Oscars and also starred Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heather Graham.
“Titanic,” meanwhile, was nominated for 14 Oscars and won 11.
Saying no to the role still haunts DiCaprio to this day.
“I’ll say it even though you’re here: My biggest regret is not doing ‘Boogie Nights,’” he told the director in an August Esquire interview.
“It was a profound movie of my generation,” DiCaprio said. “I can’t imagine anyone but Mark [Wahlberg] in it.”
The Hollywood vet told Anderson, 55, that he thought “Boogie Nights” was “a masterpiece” when he saw it for the first time.
“It’s ironic that you’re the person asking that question,” DiCaprio added, “but it’s true.”
DiCaprio had previously spoken out about choosing “Titanic” over the comedy-drama.
In 2008, when asked if he could go back in time and change his decision, the star stated to GQ, “I’m not saying I would have. But it would have been a different direction, careerwise. I think they’re both great and wish I could have done them both.”
“I would have been happy to do them both,” he expressed. “And the truth is, if I’d not done ‘Titanic,’ I wouldn’t be able to do the types of movies or have the career I have now, for sure. But it would have been interesting to see if I had gone the other way.”
In September, DiCaprio got the chance to collaborate with Anderson on “One Battle After Another.”
“When these opportunities come up, I mean, I can’t say no,” DiCaprio confessed to People about working with the director.
“I think anytime would’ve been the right time, to be honest,” he explained about making a movie with Anderson. “Ever since I met Paul early on and I saw ‘Boogie Nights,’ I’ve been an obsessive fan of his work, watched all his movies.”
“His films ruminate in my mind and they’re conversation pieces with my friends, they last.”
DiCaprio also touched on what the next “chapter” of his life looks like.
“I’m slowing down a bit,” he mused.
Although DiCaprio isn’t looking to leave the spotlight, he does want to be more selective with roles, adding that “awards can come and go.”
“Accolades, box office can come and go, but those pieces of art, that you still talk about and still think about and still question,” he detailed. “Those are the films that we strive for as an actor. And Paul is the dude of our generation that does them.”
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