The only actor Leonardo DiCaprio was jealous of in 1998: “He’s made some interesting choices”
In 1998, Leonardo DiCaprio had the world at his feet, for reasons that had to do with much more than Titanic.
Of course, taking top billing in the highest-grossing movie of all time, becoming an international superstar, and anchoring the film that won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards will do wonders for anyone’s career, but he was already on an unstoppable upward trajectory by then.
DiCaprio was already an Academy Award nominee for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, he’d earned two Golden Globe nominations for Lasse Hallström’s drama and James Cameron’s epic, and he’d steered Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet to success at the box office, so he wasn’t doing too badly.
He was still in his early 20s, too, and Hollywood was his oyster. Everyone wanted a piece of him, which forced him to become more selective in his choice of roles, especially when The Man in the Iron Mask left him wanting to bash his head repeatedly against a wall in frustration.
DiCaprio was the man of the moment, had already showcased his chops as a generational talent, and he was still less than a decade removed from his feature debut. He had it all, seemingly, but he was still jealous of one of his peers, which is ironic, if not laughable, when you compare their careers today.
In late 1998, still reeling from the ‘Leomania’ phenomenon catapulting him into the stratosphere, Martin Scorsese’s eventual muse and erstwhile Robert De Niro replacement was asked which actors he admired from afar and harboured any feelings of jealousy toward, and he gave an answer that looks ridiculous when seen through a modern lens.
“I kind of envy Stephen Dorff,” he revealed. “He’s made some interesting choices and pulled it off. He played a transvestite in that movie about Andy Warhol, and now he’s in Blade, a real hip vampire action movie that nobody expected to do so hot.”
Only a year his senior, Dorff had been predicted for big things, and was expected to join DiCaprio as one of the established leading men of the ’90s. Their paths weren’t dissimilar, with the former also starting off as a child star before graduating into adult roles, but it’s fair to say he’s long since fallen off a cliff.
Blade was about as high as he flew in terms of the mainstream, and within a few years, he was starring in a Uwe Boll film. In his defence, Dorff has never been one to chase the money, and he’s been working solidly for decades, but on the other hand, being named by science as the worst-reviewed actor of all time suggests a serious case of wasted potential.
