Overview

• DiCaprio, 50, said his first agent called his name "too ethnic" and proposed "Lenny Williams" as his stage name.
• He explained the suggested surname came from his middle name, Wilhelm, and that he was about 12 or 13 at the time.
• His father, George DiCaprio, rejected the change after seeing a headshot with the alias, saying, "Over my dead body," and tearing it up.
• Describing early auditions, DiCaprio recalled child actors being lined up "like cattle," hearing rapid "Yes" or "No" judgments, and breakdancing for money.
• Appearing with co-star Benicio del Toro, who noted he was once told "You’re Benny Del," DiCaprio was promoting Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, in theaters Sept. 26.