LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A character actor at heart, Leonardo DiCaprio is a widely celebrated Hollywood heavyweight, who carved a niche for himself with his versatile and unconventional performances. With an early start to his acting career, the now 48-year-old Academy Award-winner was quintessentially dubbed the teen heartthrob of the 1990s. He was even hailed as the "best" actor of his generation after appearing in films like ‘Growing Pains’, ‘What's Eating Gilbert Grape?’, and ‘The Basketball Diaries’.
DiCaprio’s phenomenal talent not only won fans’ hearts but also defined his equation with most of his other female co-stars. However, his aura on set failed to 'charm' Claire Danes. The pair shared the screen in Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Romero + Juliet’ but their off-screen rapport was nothing like the Shakespearian lovers. Danes shared a love-hate relationship with DiCaprio and that’s why she expressed her desire to never work with him again when she was asked to audition for the character of Rose in ‘Titanic’ that eventually went to Kate Winslet.
Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio were at odds on ‘Romeo + Juliet’ set
It is said that Danes and DiCaprio didn’t quite see eye to eye on the set of ‘Romeo + Juliet’. Coming on to play Juliet at the age of 17, Danes was determined to prove herself but DiCaprio, who was 21, was just the opposite. The ‘Stardust’ actor was much younger than her co-star but was far more mature on set. Her professionalism both shocked and impressed DiCaprio. Impressed by her craft, the ‘Inception’ star previously told Vice that "I saw her television show, My So-Called Life, and I knew from that point on that she was just an extremely intense and emotional girl and possessed a lot of what we wanted to Juliet to be.”
However, DiCaprio's views on Danes quickly changed when they started filming Luhrmann’s blockbuster. The situation was pretty tense between them as they had constant fights because of DiCaprio’s on-set pranks. According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, DiCaprio "tried to pull multiple pranks on Danes when the cameras weren't rolling, and the young actor wasn't having it." The outlet also revealed that "Danes was ready to drink the poison whenever she was around her co-star." Despite the age difference, Danes supposedly believed DiCaprio to be "too immature" while he thought she was "too uptight."
Claire Danes later confessed she had a crush on Leonardo DiCaprio
Despite all tension between them, Danes couldn’t stop herself from developing romantic feelings for DiCaprio. In a recent interview with W Magazine, the actress admitted to having a little bit of a schoolgirl crush on DiCaprio while filming one of the most swoon-worthy historical romances. However, the crush didn’t last long as it was too ‘problematic’. “That was problematic,” she confessed, adding “I couldn’t really have a crush on the guy I was professionally having a crush on!” She went on to claim that “Quite a few gay men have talked to me about the fact that when they were kids watching Romeo + Juliet, they were confused about who they wanted to kiss. It was all about Leo! And I completely understand.”
British actress Miriam Margolye who was also cast in the film saw first hand what was happening. Despite Danes' apparent hostility, it seemed her crush was quite evident. In her memoir titled 'This Much Is True', Margolye wrote, ""I liked [DiCaprio] tremendously and admired his work, but luckily I was immune from his groin charms, unlike poor Claire Danes, then only 17. It was obvious to all of us that she really was in love with her Romeo, but Leonardo wasn't in love with her. She wasn't his type at all. He didn't know how to cope with her evident infatuation. He wasn't sensitive to her feelings, was dismissive of her and could be quite nasty in his keenness to get away, while Claire was utterly sincere and so open. It was painful to watch."
