The Only Thing Crazier Than Leonardo DiCaprio Doing A Podcast? What Hollywood Tried To Name Him

Leonardo DiCaprio has made an incredibly rare podcast appearance with co-star Benicio Del Toro, but it’s one detail from their conversation that’s truly surprising.

On the podcast New Heights, DiCaprio and Del Toro discuss their upcoming new film One Battle After Another. DiCaprio is infamous for staying out of the media limelight, so it was a huge shock when he actually agreed to participate in a podcast at all. Fans were left even more stunned when he recounted one of the most bizarre and career-defining moments from his earliest days in Hollywood.

The Academy Award winner said he almost had his name changed after being told by his agent that his ethnic-sounding name was too difficult to get work with. “I got an agent, and the first thing they said to me was: ‘Your name is too ethnic,’” the star said. “I go: ‘What do you mean?’ ‘No, no, too ethnic. They’re never gonna hire you. Your new name is Lenny Williams,’” the agent replied. The alias wasn’t even particularly creative, as DiCaprio’s agent said they simply took his middle name and made that his last, while adding the first name Lenny.

Thankfully, Leo’s father saw the headshot with Lenny Williams written on it before he signed off and he reportedly ripped it up and said that over my dead body would he change his name.

Del Toro later added his own story of being told he should be “Benny Del.” It’s shocking to think that two of the biggest names in Hollywood today were almost forced to change their name to something so tacky, as if it was plucked out of a cheesy 1980s TV show. While many actors have changed their names to make their careers, others have not, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s story is proof that this could have seriously backfired on him. After all, it’s hard to imagine the glamorous… Lenny Williams starring in Titanic or The Revenant.