Leonardo DiCaprio never took John C. Reilly’s advice again after the veteran actor once tried to talk him out of starring in “Titanic,” the blockbuster that turned him into one of the world’s biggest movie stars.
The story has since become a cautionary tale in Hollywood circles about second-guessing instincts.According to RadarOnline.com, DiCaprio, 51, was still an emerging talent in the mid-1990s when he found himself choosing between two projects that would become landmark films of the era.
How John C. Reilly tried to get DiCaprio out of Titanic
Having already made his name in the 1993 film ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’, DiCaprio was chosen to play the lead role in James Cameron’s film ‘Titanic’.
But Reilly, 61, has now admitted he pushed DiCaprio hard to abandon the future classic and instead star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights, dismissing Titanic as meaningless because audiences already knew how the film would end.Reilly revealed that Anderson desperately wanted DiCaprio to play Dirk Diggler before the role ultimately went to Mark Wahlberg. “Before Mark was asked to do the movie, Paul really wanted Leo DiCaprio to do it,” Reilly said.
“And I had already filmed What’s Eating Gilbert Grape with Mary and Leo, and I knew Leo. I met him when he was 17. I said to myself: ‘Give me the job, Paul.’ “I’ll have this guy do your movie.”Reilly then described sitting down with DiCaprio in Los Angeles to make his case. He said to him, “Leo, let me tell you something. This movie, Titanic, is about a sinking boat. Everyone knows the boat is sinking. No one is going to care who’s on the boat.”Despite Riley’s confidence, DiCaprio was not convinced. “He was like, ‘Well, I don’t know. All my agents are saying this is going to be a really big movie and I should do it,'” Reilly recalls. And I said to myself, “I’m telling you, man. I’m not going to give you some bum guidance here. “It’s about a sinking boat.”
What happened after DiCaprio ignored the advice?
DiCaprio ignored Reilly’s advice and accepted the role of Jack Dawson. “Titanic” created a cultural sensation, won him 11 Oscars, and made him one of Hollywood’s most popular stars.Reilly later acknowledged the magnitude of what followed. “I think the huge success that came with ‘Titanic’ was both a blessing and a curse at the same time,” he said. “It was just a huge success for a young man. And I think he felt like, ‘What could have been my other path?'”In August 2025, DiCaprio admitted that his “biggest regret is not doing Boogie Nights,” although he eventually had the opportunity to work with Anderson on the 2025 action thriller “One Battle After Another.”
What sources say is that DiCaprio is thinking now
A source told the outlet that while DiCaprio may now prefer a grittier Anderson film, there’s no doubt who he’ll never consult again. “One actor he will never take advice from about his career again is John C. Reilly,” the source said. “If he hadn’t made popcorn like Titanic first, making him one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men, there’s a chance he wouldn’t have been so successful that he could have picked up his own projects later on.
“One industry insider noted that few actors could forget being asked to helm a film that has grossed billions worldwide and transformed its hero into a global phenomenon almost overnight.
