John C. Reilly recently told Ted Danson on the “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” podcast that he tried to convince Leonardo DiCaprio to turn down “Titanic” and instead star in “Boogie Nights,” written and directed by his good friend Paul Thomas Anderson.
Reilly said he and Anderson were “thick as thieves” after collaborating on Anderson’s 1996 directorial debut “Hard Eight.” Reilly worked with DiCaprio in 1993’s “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” and he told Anderson he was confident he would get the young star to sign on for “Boogie Nights.”
“I met him when he was 17,” Reilly explained. “And I was like, ‘Give me the assignment, Paul. I’ll get this guy to do your movie. I’ve known him since [he was] a kid.’”
Reilly recalled telling DiCaprio, “’Listen, Leo, let me tell you something. That movie ‘Titanic’ is about a boat that sinks. Everyone knows the boat sinks. No one’s going to give a shit about who’s on the boat.’”
He also said of Anderson at the time, “‘This guy, this director, is going to be one of the most talented film directors going forward, and you should not miss this opportunity.’”
Reilly remembered DiCaprio leaning toward doing James Cameron’s “Titanic,” since his agents were convinced it was destined to be “a really big movie.”
Still, Reilly pressed on: “And I was like, ‘I’m telling you, man. I’m telling you, I wouldn’t give you a bum steer here. It’s about a boat that sinks.’”
Despite Reilly’s persistence, DiCaprio went on to star in “Titanic,” which grossed $1.84 billion by the end of its original run. Mark Wahlberg stepped into the role of Eddie Adams, aka Dirk Diggler, a young dishwasher who is catapulted into adult film stardom in the 1970s. Reilly starred in the film as fellow performer Reed Rothchild.
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