Leonardo DiCaprio created an impact in 90s Hollywood with his performances in films such as This Boy’s Life (1993), The Basketball Diaries (1995), and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).

The latter earned DiCaprio nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars and the Golden Globes at only 19 years old. He played an intellectually disabled kid named Arnie who was taken care of by his older brother Gilbert, played by Johnny Depp.

During the making of the film, DiCaprio and Depp became close and hung out outside sets in bars and clubs. DiCaprio had a smoking habit at the time which he kept from his mother. Depp however was aware of all this and prevented DiCaprio from continuing his habit during their many hangouts on set.

Johnny Depp Refused to Give Leonardo DiCaprio His Cigarettes.
Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Johnny Depp was at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2016 where he was given a lifetime achievement award. While talking to journalists, he shared an anecdote regarding the filming of his 1993 film What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, which he co-starred with a young Leonardo DiCaprio. He revealed that DiCaprio had a bad smoking habit which he kept hidden from his mother. Depp himself was a smoker at the time and did not want the young star to become addicted at such a young age. He thus tortured the young actor by refusing to share his cigarettes with him. He told him (via Page Six),
“No, I will not give you a drag of my cigarette while you hide from your mother again, Leo”
DiCaprio is very close to his mother and hence he did not want her to know about his bad habits. Depp’s action is reflective of a caring older brother who does not want his younger brother to develop a bad addiction which could ruin his health.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Secret Was also Known by a Prominent Photographer
Leonardo DiCaprio
Prominent photographer Steve Eichner also shared his awareness of Leonardo DiCaprio’s smoking habit and keeping it hidden from his mother. While promoting his new book In the Limelight: The Visual Ecstasy of NYC Nightlife in the ’90s with Page Six, he revealed an anecdote of a party hosted by Nicholas Cage. At the party, he captured a moment where DiCaprio was buying cigarettes from a girl. He addressed DiCaprio’s concerns with the photo saying,
“[Leo] came over and tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Hey man, can you do me a favor and please don’t use that photo? You can take photos of me tonight. I was buying cigarettes, and I don’t want my mom to know that I smoke.”
DiCaprio took extra precautions so that his addiction did not reach the ears of his mother. The claims made by both Johnny Depp and Eichner are evidence of that. While they did not necessarily spill the beans of his behavior to his mother, they made sure that DiCaprio either limited his addiction or prevented it from becoming public at the time.

What is Leonardo DiCaprio Working On Now?
Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon
In 2023, Leonardo DiCaprio has the upcoming highly anticipated film Killers of the Flower Moon. The film is an adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and The Birth of the FBI.

It is a murder mystery based on the real-life killings of the people of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma in the 1920s, owing to the oil deposits and resources found beneath their land. The film also stars Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, and Brendan Fraser among others.

Killers of the Flower Moon will be released in theatres worldwide on October 20, 2023.