at 15:38 on January 21, 2007, EST.

NEW YORK (AP) - Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to give up acting for a time after the hit movie "Titanic."

DiCaprio was back to being considered a "another piece of cute meat" after the 1997 film's spectacular box office success, an image he had wanted to get away after his days on the cover of teen magazines, he told Newsweek for editions on newsstands Monday.

"It was pretty disheartening to be objectified like that. I wanted to stop acting for a little bit," he said at the magazine's Oscar panel discussion with other actors. "It changed my life in a lot of ways, but at the same time, I can't say that it didn't give me opportunities. It made me, for the first time, in control of my career."

After many successful movies and critical acclaim, DiCaprio said he loves acting.

"There's no other art form in the world that affects me more. There's nothing that I walk away from feeling transformed by the way I do with cinema," he said.

DiCaprio starred in a cast featuring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and others in "The Departed," which earned Martin Scorsese a Golden Globe for best director.


©The Canadian Press, 2007

since when is he "cute"

oh puleease

He looks like my first husband.

gemini13 said:

sorry to hear that

I know,

Leo needs to get a grip!!

gemini13 said:

I think he has a grip.....just not on reality

a moment of silence for leo

gemini13 said:

and my first boyfriend has ended up looking like a cross between him and Steve Buscemi!

ZombieKitten said:

Whoa! What is with our attraction to frog like men? Nicholas Cage included!

gemini13 said:

omg my husband can look a bit like Nic Cage sometimes

ZombieKitten said:

I'd bet he can.

Scary!

gemini13 said:

what a better world it is, that he's still acting

BlackAdder7 said:

how creepy sweet

Is he a queen?

he was REALLY good pre-titanic... "this boys life" "what's eating gilbert grape?" "total elipse"

post-titanic i have yet to see him really wow me like he did before

Leo's got his acting heart in the right place, he really wants to be good. But aside from Gilbert Grape (which is where his rep comes from) I haven't much liked him in anything. He's just ok. I think for heartthrobs Marky Mark & Depp are better & more believable & have more charisma.

But Leo's better that Brad Pitt, at least.

NDRU said:

i actually think brad pitt is really good in

fight club
babel
interview with a vampire
12 monkeys

Basketball Diaries is probably his best.

origmnd said:

yea, that was another pre-titanic he was great in

Why am I the only one on the planet who loved "The Beach"? Or, why do I have such shite taste in films?

cborgman said:

he's not awful, I just don't find him very natural for some reason.

I saw The Departed yesterday and thought DiCaprio totally outacted every single one of the other A-listers. I'm amazed that such an arrogant prick can portray genuine emotions so vividly and accurately. Some people are just born actors I guess.

retina said:

I don't know the guy and don't care, but I thought it was admirable when I heard a news clip about him on the radio the other day. While filming "Blood Diamond", a deranged fan (anti-fan?) rushed his co-star with a gun and DiCaprio positioned himself between the gun and the other actor until the fan left. The guy claims Leo saved his life, I think.

Source was Fox News, so who knows.

someone questioned recently if maybe he was on steroids. Any of you ever think anything like that?

INSATIABLE said:

He probably thought his fame has made him bulletproof.

Or maybe he was just brave. I don't know, I just don't like the guy when I hear him do interviews. He seems really shallow and vain, which makes it even more amazing that all that seems to be gone as soon as he appears on the big screen.

retina said:

Agh, I second my previous first sentence. Hope you're well.

ZombieKitten said:

I like steve buscemi, he's cute.

INSATIABLE said:

Meh.

And you?

.