Leonardo DiCaprio will never forget where Paul…
Once upon a time in Hollywood, Paul Thomas Anderson supplied Leonardo DiCaprio the function of a lifetime.
On Wednesday, the actor, 51, shared the second he discovered about the 1997 movie “Boogie Nights.”
At Time magazine’s “A Year in Time” event, per The Hollywood Reporter, DiCaprio recounted “meeting Paul very early on in my career, when I was about to go do ‘Titanic,’ but we were talking about doing ‘Boogie Nights.’”
Leonardo DiCaprio speaks about “Boogie Nights” during the 2025 A Year In TIME Event at Current at Chelsea Piers on Dec. 10, 2025. Getty Images for TIME
“I was in my mother’s living room, and I’ll never forget,” shared the Oscar winner, “I was on the couch and he brought a LaserDisc of ‘Raging Bull’ and a video cassette of pornography. And he said, ‘I want to do the ‘Raging Bull’ of pornography.’”
DiCaprio was only in his early 20’s and had starred in “This Boy’s Life” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993), and 1996’s “Romeo + Juliet” and “Marvin’s Room.”
At the time, the “Wolf of Wall Street” star confided in his close pal Martin Scorsese about the thought of doing “Boogie Nights.”
Mark Wahlberg, Melora Walters in a scene from the 1997 epic “Boogie Nights.” ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
The filmmaker, 83, directed “Raging Bull” (1980), which adopted the life of boxer Jake LaMotta, performed by Robert De Niro.
“I thought to myself, ‘Wow, that’s going to be pretty difficult,’” DiCaprio told Scorsese. “But you’ve been close to him over the years, and there’s so much commonality in the way both of you work.”
The “Inception” actor ended up turning down the function of Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler in “Boogie Nights” to play Jack in James Cameron’s “Titanic.”
Heather Graham with director Paul Thomas Anderson on set of 1997’s “Boogie Nights.” ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
Mark Wahlberg, 54, portrayed the lead in the movie about a younger busboy who turns into a porn star.
The film was nominated for three Oscars and also starred Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heather Graham.
“Titanic,” meanwhile, was nominated for 14 Oscars and gained 11.
Julianne Moore, Mark Wahlberg in “Boogie Nights.” ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
Saying no to the function still haunts DiCaprio to this day.
“I’ll say it even though you’re here: My biggest regret is not doing ‘Boogie Nights,’” he told the director in an August Esquire interview.
“It was a profound movie of my generation,” DiCaprio said. “I can’t imagine anyone but Mark [Wahlberg] in it.”
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in “Titanic,” which the actor did instead of “Boogie Nights.” ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
The Hollywood vet told Anderson, 55, that he thought “Boogie Nights” was “a masterpiece” when he noticed it for the first time.
“It’s ironic that you’re the person asking that question,” DiCaprio added, “but it’s true.”
DiCaprio had beforehand spoken out about selecting “Titanic” over the comedy-drama.
Leonardo DiCaprio at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills on March 25, 1993. Getty Images
Mark Wahlberg during a e-book signing in 1993. WireImage
In 2008, when requested if he might go back in time and change his choice, the star acknowledged to GQ, “I’m not saying I would have. But it would have been a different direction, careerwise. I think they’re both great and wish I could have done them both.”
“I would have been happy to do them both,” he expressed. “And the truth is, if I’d not done ‘Titanic,’ I wouldn’t be able to do the types of movies or have the career I have now, for sure. But it would have been interesting to see if I had gone the other way.”
In September, DiCaprio bought the possibility to collaborate with Anderson on “One Battle After Another.”
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio on on November 19, 2025. Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Warner Bros
“When these opportunities come up, I mean, I can’t say no,” DiCaprio confessed to People about working with the director.
“I think anytime would’ve been the right time, to be honest,” he explained about making a film with Anderson. “Ever since I met Paul early on and I saw ‘Boogie Nights,’ I’ve been an obsessive fan of his work, watched all his movies.”
“His films ruminate in my mind and they’re conversation pieces with my friends, they last.”
DiCaprio also touched on what the next “chapter” of his life seems like.
“I’m slowing down a bit,” he mused.
Paul Thomas Anderson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro on the set of “One Battle After Another.” ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Leonardo DiCaprio with director Paul Thomas Anderson on set on the 2025 movie “One Battle After Another.” ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Although DiCaprio isn’t wanting to go away the highlight, he does need to be more selective with roles, including that “awards can come and go.”
“Accolades, box office can come and go, but those pieces of art, that you still talk about and still think about and still question,” he detailed. “Those are the films that we strive for as an actor. And Paul is the dude of our generation that does them.”
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