Before becoming a teenage heartthrob for the ages, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in the 1995 western, The Quick and the Dead, alongside Sharon Stone at the height of her career. However, DiCaprio recently confirmed that the studio had no interest in casting him, and he would have never appeared in the Sam Raimi film if it wasn’t for Stone.
In her 2021 memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, Stone revealed how far she went to cast DiCaprio.
“This kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who nailed the audition, in my opinion: he was the only one who came in and cried, begging his father to love him as he died in the scene,” Stone wrote via Insider. “The studio said if I wanted him so much, I could pay him out of my own salary. So I did.”
While promoting his new movie, Killers of the Flower Moon, DiCaprio confirmed Stone’s generosity in an interview with E! News and called her “amazing.”
“I’ve thanked her many times,” DiCaprio said. “I don’t know if I sent her an actual, physical thank you gift, but I cannot thank her enough.”
According to DiCaprio, Stone saw his work in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? as well as Russell Crowe‘s performance in Romper Stomper, and refused to let the studio cast anyone else.
“She said, ‘These are the two actors I want to work with,’” DiCaprio told E! News. “It’s incredible. She’s been a huge champion of cinema and giving other actors opportunities, so I’m very thankful.”
(Via E! News)