Overview
- John C. Reilly told Ted Danson on his podcast that he personally urged a young Leonardo DiCaprio to take Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights instead of Titanic.
- Reilly said Anderson originally preferred DiCaprio for the lead role that later went to Mark Wahlberg.
- DiCaprio remained on Titanic, which became a massive commercial success, and has since called missing Boogie Nights one of his biggest career regrets.
- Reilly recounted a Silver Lake conversation in which he warned DiCaprio that Titanic was “about a boat that sinks,” arguing the director opportunity with Anderson mattered more.
- At the time agents and managers were wary of Boogie Nights because it centers on the porn industry, a stigma that helps explain why casting moved the way it did and why the decision has been re-examined in hindsight.