For years, there have been rumors of a feud between Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.
By all accounts, the two A-listers simply don’t like each other, and based on comments Depp made during a recent sit-down with legendary film critic Leonard Maltin, the beef might date way back to 1993.
That was the year that Depp and DiCaprio co-starred in the quirky small-town dramedy What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
DiCaprio would receive his first Oscar nomination for his memorable turn as a developmentally disabled teen, while Depp – though by far the bigger star at the time – turned in a more understated performance that was largely overlooked by critics and awards committees.
But apparently that’s not the cause of the ongoing tension between Depp and DiCaprio. To hear Johnny tell it, it was more a case of 18-year-old Leo simply being a bit of a pain in the ass.
“It was a hard time for me for some reason,” Depp said of his time working with DiCaprio.
“I tortured him. I really did. He was always talking about these video games. ‘No I will not give you a drag from my cigarette while you hide from your mother again, Leo.’”
So if Johnny is to be believed (and really, why would he lie at this point?), the ongoing Depp-DiCaprio drama has nothing to do with the fact that Leo had an easier time transitioning from teen heartthrob to respected actor, but was instead just a case of annoyance at first sight.
Believe it or not, more than two decades after Grape, the two modern screen legends still don’t have a single Oscar between them, but that may soon change, thanks to Leo’s acclaimed performance in The Revenant.
The fact that Depp was snubbed by the Academy for his work in Black Mass probably won’t do much to help these two mend fences.