ποΈLeonardo DiCaprio in an interview on how Robert De Niro single-handedly changed his life and career:
"Look, if it wasn't for Bob, I wouldnβt be sitting here today. I was 17 years old, just a kid doing sitcoms and commercials, trying to get my foot in the door. I auditioned for "This Boy's Life" along with 400 other kids, and during my scene, I ended up screaming right in his face out of pure nerves.
Apparently, after I walked out, Bob looked at the director and said, "Thatβs the kid. Look at him, heβs got something." He didn't know me from anywhere, but his word was law in Hollywood. He forced the studio to take a chance on an unknown kid, and that one nod from De Niro changed my entire destiny."