Leonardo DiCaprio wasn't always the megastar that he is today—he started out as an ambitious teen who worked bloody hard to earn his place. (So give him an Oscar, please.) Johnny Depp reminded us all of that fact during the 31st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival, as he revealed he used to "torture" the then-fledgling actor.
Johnny was picking up the Maltin Modern Master Award for his contributions to film, when he discussed working on the set of What's Eating Gilbert Grape with Leo. At the time, Leo was 19-years-old, extremely keen, hugely into computer games and—by the sounds of it—really looked up to Johnny.
"It was a hard time for me, that film, for some reason. I don't know why," Johnny said. He added of his relationship with Leo, "I tortured him. I really did."
"He was always talking about these videos games, you know? I told you it was kind of a dark period," he continued. "'No, I will not give you a drag of my cigarette while you hide from your mother again, Leo.'"
What's lovely is that Johnny then went on to praise Leo for his unfailingly strong work ethic, and it just reminds you how deserving he is of his success.
"I'd say the absolute truth is that I respect Leo a lot," said Johnny. "He worked really hard on that film and spent a lot of time researching. He came to set and he was ready to work hard and all his ducks were in a row."
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