Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most talented and highly appreciated names in the entertainment industry. His talent was discovered early on in the movie Titanic, released in 1997.

He presented movie fans with some vast classics like Inception, Shutter Island, The Great Gatsby, Django Unchained, among others. The actor was also highly appreciated for his supporting role in the film The Departed.


The Departed castThe Departed cast
The Oscar winner and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood had once refused to compete with Mark Wahlberg for nominations at the Oscars.

Leonardo DiCaprio Refused to Go Up Against Mark Wahlberg for Best Supporting Actor Oscar after Making 4X More Than Him in $291M Movie

Leonardo DiCaprio Refused to Go Up Against Mark Wahlberg for Oscars

The Departed is a crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and released in 2005. The movie featured Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg in prominent roles.

The flick turned out to be one of the top-grossing films of the year, with a global income of $291 million. The movie was a critical and commercial success which also received numerous accolades to its name.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg in The DepartedLeonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
The film also won four Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. The director Scorsese received his only Oscar to date for this crime action film. Transformers star Mark Wahlberg was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor category.
Leonardo DiCaprio in The DepartedLeonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
As per reports, Leonardo DiCaprio could have received his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for The Departed. However, he refused to go up against his co-stars in the supporting actor category. Therefore, he was not nominated for the role, and instead, Mark Wahlberg’s name was up for nominations.

Leonardo DiCaprio received his long-due Oscar Award for Best Actor in 2015 for The Revenant.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg’s income difference in The Departed

When The Wolf of Wall Street star was cast by the director Scorsese for the role of Billy in the film, the actor was already a star. He played an important role in the film as an undercover police officer, and the movie majorly revolves around his character- his choices and his duties.

However, the character was cut-off with a sudden twist, which left the fans shocked. As per the reports, DiCaprio was paid a handsome amount of $20 million for the movie.
MCDDEPA EC020 scaledTHE DEPARTED, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, 2006, (c) Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection
On the other hand, Mark Wahlberg also played a supporting role in the film, with the name Seam Dignam. The role of an overly aggressive staff sergeant could not be suited for any other actor. His acting as a good and law-abiding cop was spectacular in the film. As per the reports, the actor was paid $5 million for the movie, four times less than the Don’t Look Up star.

Leonardo DiCaprio will be reuniting with The Departed director Martin Scorsese after several years for the upcoming film, Killers of the Flower Moon. The film will release on 6 October 2023.