EXCLUSIVE: Leonardo DiCaprio on Fame
Nov. 22 -- What's it like when, almost overnight, a handsome, charming 22-year-old is catapulted into worldwide fame in the biggest-grossing movie of all time?
"There's no handbook for fame," Leonardo DiCaprio told 20/20's Barbara Walters in his first in-depth television interview in 10 years. "There's no handbook for being splashed on the cover of People magazine when you didn't want to be there, or being on the cover of the Enquirer, you know, all these magazines, and being talked about here and there, speculated, you know, 'Who's he? What's he doing here? What's he doing with this person?' or whatever. I had nobody to talk to. I had nobody to guide me."
As part of his fame, DiCaprio, who just turned 28, has had to get used to having his personal life scrutinized by the media, and his movies judged against the phenomenal success of Titanic, which is the only film ever to surpass $1 billion at the box office.
But he is quick to point out that his fame has had benefits, too. "I'm not at all going to sit here and say that I'm not completely grateful," he told Walters. "I feel completely blessed for everything that has happened in my career."
Says New Movies Are Not a Comeback
DiCaprio is starring in two of the most anticipated holiday releases this season: Catch Me If You Can, the true story of 1960s con man Frank Abagnale, directed by Steven Spielberg and co-starring Tom Hanks; and director Martin Scorsese's long-awaited Gangs of New York.
It has been three years since his last film, The Beach, which was a box office disappointment. While many Hollywood observers are saying the success or failure of the two films will be a defining moment in his career, DiCaprio says he does not consider them in any way an attempt at a comeback.
"I sort of do films when I feel it is time to do them and I'm drawn to a certain role or a character or a film, or working with a great director like Steven," he said, gesturing at Spielberg, who was sitting in on the interview along with Hanks.
