“I Just Thought it Was a Masterpiece”: Leonardo DiCaprio Opens Up About His Deepest Career Regret

1997 was the year that Leonardo DiCaprio would ascend to a level of stardom that he has never come down from. It was the year that he starred alongside Kate Winslet in James Cameron’s towering epic, Titanic. Surely such an accomplished actor like DiCaprio could look back on his career with little to no regret, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

In anticipation of their new film One Battle After Another, Leonardo DiCaprio sat down with director Paul Thomas Anderson for an interview with Esquire. When asked about his career, the Oscar-winning actor admitted, “I’ll say it even though you’re here: My biggest regret is not doing Boogie Nights.” DiCaprio continued, “It was a profound movie of my generation. I can’t imagine anyone but Mark in it. When I finally got to see that movie, I just thought it was a masterpiece. It’s ironic that you’re the person asking that question, but it’s true.”

Funny enough, DiCaprio starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in the 1995 adaptation of Jim Carroll’s seminal autobiographical novel, The Basketball Diaries. The two young actors both went on to carve out exceptional careers in film and reunited on screen for Martin Scorsese’s The Departed in 2006.

Wahlberg has grown less fond of his role in Boogie Nights over the years; in 2017 he said, “I just always hope that God is a movie fan and also forgiving, because I’ve made some poor choices in my past. Boogie Nights is up there at the top of the list,” Wahlberg elaborated. “I don’t want to compromise my artistic integrity or choices based on my faith or my family, but I also have other things to consider, and being a little bit older and a little wiser, the idea of having to explain that movie and the reason behind it to my kids is another issue,” explained Wahlberg.

Everyone deals with regret in one form or another, even if you’re a world-famous movie star, but Leonardo DiCaprio will be able to right some past wrongs on September 26 when Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another premiers.

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