Mark Wahlberg was just a young budding actor who had got the opportunity to star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio back in 1995. Having worked in only a single film before The Basketball Diaries, Wahlberg was on the verge of making it big in Hollywood, but nothing proved easy.
Talking about his personal issues with the Titanic star, Wahlberg admitted that he and DiCaprio did not get along initially. Having troubles while shooting the 1995 film, Wahlberg revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio did not want “Marky Mark” to star alongside him at all!
Mark Wahlberg And Leonardo DiCaprio Did Not Get Along Initially
Back in the days of shooting, Mark Wahlberg had a rap career and several lawsuits to his name. Despite The Basketball Diaries being a breakthrough movie for the actor, Wahlberg had several issues with working with Leonardo DiCaprio (who had already received an Oscar nomination by that time).
As for Wahlberg, the actor was involved in racial lawsuits in 1986 when he was 15 years old and ran after three black children while yelling “Kill the ni**er”. Having such lawsuits behind him, the actor was in a dangerous territory with DiCaprio.
In a 2013 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Marky Mark talked about how DiCaprio absolutely did not want him on the sets of The Basketball Diaries and cursed the actor several times. Stating that they had gotten off on the wrong foot, Wahlberg suggested that a single mistake almost cost him the movie. That could have had a huge impact on his career, but the two ended up settling their differences eventually.
“Leonardo was like, ‘Over my dead f—ing body. Marky Mark’s not going to be in this f—ing movie,’ Because we’d had a thing — I didn’t even realize it, [but] I was a bit of a dick to him at a charity basketball game. So he was like, ‘This f—ing asshole is not going to be in this movie.’”
It was the tolerance of the casting director Avy Kaufman that the two men were able to set aside their differences and forget the past. Mark Wahlberg revealed that after DiCaprio’s statements, the two resolved the issue and were hanging out like buddies.
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Leonardo DiCaprio And Mark Wahlberg Resolved The Issue
After the on-set disputes, Wahlberg talked about how he came in for an audition, and the Shutter Island star was impressed with his performance. Making eye contact, the Uncharted actor and DiCaprio found respect for each other and quickly became pals.
“So I come in and I do the audition and I kind of look at him and he kind of looks at me, and then we do a scene, and they’re like, ‘Hmm, this f—ing dude’s pretty good, right?’ The next thing you know, boom, we’re hanging out.”
Being a breakthrough film for Marky Mark, The Basketball Diaries received mixed reviews. With an average rating of 7.3/10 on IMDB but a meager 47% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film helped establish Wahlberg as an actor to be reckoned with.
