Overview

• DiCaprio, 50, said an agent told him his name was "too ethnic" and proposed "Lenny Williams" when he was around 12 or 13.
• "Williams" was drawn from his middle name, Wilhelm, according to DiCaprio’s recollection.
• He said his father, George DiCaprio, saw a headshot bearing the new name, tore it up, and declared, "Over my dead body."
• DiCaprio described early struggles as a child actor, recalling agents lining hopefuls up "like cattle" and earning money as a break dancer.
• He recounted the anecdote on Sept. 24 during a New Heights appearance with Benicio del Toro, as the pair promote One Battle After Another, which opens Sept. 26.