When Mark Wahlberg spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, in 2013, he disclosed Leonardo DiCaprio's reaction to the idea of his casting in the film. "Leonardo was like, 'Over my dead f***ing body. Marky Mark's not going to be in this f***** movie,'" the former rapper recalled. "Because we'd had a thing — I didn't even realize it, [but] I was a bit of a dick to him at a charity basketball game. So he was like, 'This f***** a***** is not going to be in this movie.'"
However, the producers didn't let DiCaprio have his way and they urged him to do a read with Wahlberg. But as fate would have it, the "Ted" star showed up to the reading nearly eight hours late. Speaking at AFI Fest in 2014, Wahlberg admitted that he had headed up to Puerto Rico for the weekend, and when it was time to get back for the read, there was a gigantic snowstorm and his flight was canceled. Upon arrival, he got some dirty looks from DiCaprio.
Nonetheless, the actors went on with the scene and Wahlberg told THR that the movie's producers couldn't help but notice their chemistry, so they cheekily asked the "Killers of the Flower Moon" star what he thought of Wahlberg's performance. That simple question eased all the tension in the room, and everyone shared a laugh. Wahlberg even spent some time with DiCaprio after the audition, and it didn't take them long to form a friendship.
