Amanda Seyfried Once ‘Insulted’ Leonardo DiCaprio by Asking Him to Play Her Dad in a Movie
Leonardo DiCaprio has played a variety of roles in his long and storied career. There seemed to be no limits to the types of characters he’d be willing to portray. But according to Amanda Seyfried, DiCaprio revealed he had his limits when the Mean Girls star wanted him to play her father. Not only did he reject the offer, but he was offended by the very idea.
Leonardo DiCaprio was Amanda Seyfried’s role model
It’s not hard to see why many actors, both aspiring and established, would look up to Leonardo DiCaprio. The Oscar-winner has maintained his career by headlining several blockbuster films. In addition to that, he’s played a roster of unforgettable characters that displayed his acting range. Amanda Seyfried is one such actor who admired DiCaprio for his cinematic contributions, although her interest in acting originally started with theater.
“I fell in love with the theatre when I was growing up in Allentown [in Pennsylvania] because there was a bus that took us straight to Manhattan,” she said according to Style. “My mum and I would go see plays like Cats and Les Misérables, which is what inspired me as far as acting is concerned.”
As she got older, Seyfried also experienced anxiety. Acting was a way for her to deal with the issues her anxiety would bring her.
“Although that wasn’t the reason I turned to acting, it helped me a lot and once I started getting seriously into it I knew that it was my calling in life,” she added.
But if it wasn’t for Leonardo DiCaprio and Romeo + Juliet, Seyfried might not have found herself in the position she’s in now.
“I love to watch movies. Love stories always inspire me. My role models were Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio (in Romeo + Juliet). When they fell in love, that’s when I fell in love with movies and when I realized I wanted to be Juliet. I think every young girl dreams of being Juliet. Thank God for that movie or honestly, I wouldn’t be here,” Seyfried said.
Amanda Seyfried insulted Leonardo DiCaprio when she asked him to play her dad
Leonardo DiCaprio and Amanda Seyfried worked on the 2011 film Red Riding Hood. The film was a modern, darker retelling of the famous folklore, with DiCaprio serving as producer. Seyfried revealed in an interview with Access that she had a strong reaction when her role model would stop by while they were filming.
“When [Leo] came to visit there was a weird tension on set,” Seyfried said. “Everybody was whispering, ‘He’s here! He’s here!’ You know, he’s like a godfather. He’s like [Robert] De Niro to the younger generation of actors.”
She also shared that DiCaprio was very hands-on with the film when choosing who would star in the movie.
“He was a big part of the casting process, which is good because his input is always wanted,” she continued. “He’s been working for a long time and he makes great choices.”
However, at one point Seyfried wanted to recruit DiCaprio himself for the film. The Mean Girls actor even had a role in mind for him as her father. But it was a suggestion DiCaprio didn’t take too kindly.
“I asked him if he would play my dad but he got insulted! He said, ‘I don’t do male leads in love stories anymore,'” she told The Mirror. “And I said, ‘I wasn’t talking about the male leads, I was talking about my dad. You’re what, 35? Age yourself up a bit!”
Has Leonardo DiCaprio ever played a Dad?
Despite refusing to play a father in Red Riding Hood, the actor has played a father before, but on rare occasions. As some know, he recently played a father in the Oscar-nominated flick Don’t Look Up. Inception and Revolutionary Road were also two films where DiCaprio technically took on Dad roles.
