Hollywood might never have known about Leonardo DiCaprio: The actor revealed details

Hollywood might never have known Leonardo DiCaprio by his real name.

On the New Heights podcast with brothers Travis and Jason Kelsey, the actor revealed that at the beginning of his career, he was advised to take a pseudonym.

“I finally got an agent. They said, ‘Your name is too ethnic.’ I said, ‘What do you mean? Is it Leonardo DiCaprio?’ They said, ‘No, it’s too ethnic. They’ll never hire you. Your new name is Lenny Williams,’” DiCaprio said.

He was still a teenager then, so he wanted to understand what a pseudonym meant.

“I said, ‘Who’s Lenny?’ I was 12 or 13 years old. I said, ‘Who’s Lenny Williams?’ And they said, ‘We took your middle name and made it your middle name. Now you’re Lenny,’” the actor added.

DiCaprio emphasized that he showed his father a poster that featured his photo with his new name. However, the father was outraged by the pseudonym and tore up the poster.