Leonardo DiCaprio’s early struggles in Hollywood are the stuff of legend, however a newly resurfaced story provides contemporary perception into the business’s lengthy historical past of gatekeeping and cultural bias.
Throughout a latest look on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, DiCaprio—one in all Hollywood’s most bankable stars—revealed he couldn’t get an agent for a very long time, however when he lastly bought one, his first agent suggested him he wouldn’t achieve present enterprise on account of his actual title. The agent instructed he undertake the stage title “Lenny Williams,” saying “your title is simply too ethnic” and telling a then-13-year-old DiCaprio, “you’re by no means going to be employed.”
When DiCaprio requested, “What’s Lenny Williams?” his agent apparently responded, “We took your center title and made it your final title. Now your first title is Lenny.”
DiCaprio’s father, George, apparently hated the agent’s transfer. Upon seeing a contemporary headshot of his son with the title “Lenny Williams,” DiCaprio stated his father tore it up, saying, “Over my lifeless physique.”
Issues ended up understanding fairly properly for DiCaprio, who shot to fame as a youngster on Rising Pains, earned his first Oscar nomination at age 19 for What’s Consuming Gilbert Grape, and later headlined worldwide blockbusters Romeo + Juliet and Titanic.
DiCaprio’s expertise, in fact, will not be remoted. Throughout the identical New Heights podcast episode, DiCaprio’s co-star for the brand new Paul Thomas Anderson movie One Battle After One other, Benicio Del Toro, stated he acquired comparable recommendation—to turn into “Benny Del”—from his personal agent. Each actors stated these moments formed their resolve.
The persistence of stage title strain is a window into Hollywood’s outsized affect on private branding. Numerous artists—from Whoopi Goldberg to Jamie Foxx and Girl Gaga—have rebranded themselves to navigate alternatives and biases.
You possibly can watch the complete interview with DiCaprio beneath. He joins this system across the 53-minute mark, and talks about this harrowing second of his early profession across the 1-hour, 17-minute mark.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to assist with an preliminary draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the data earlier than publishing.
