Leonardo DiCaprio on Sharon Stone paying his salary: ‘I cannot thank her enough’

Leonardo DiCaprio has  shown gratitude for Sharon Stone, who paid for his acting salary in 1995 when the studio refused to cast him in a movie.

The Titanic famed actor also mentioned that he has thanked Sharon “many times” for helping him during a tough time and getting him a role in Sam Raimi’s Western drama The Quick and the Dead.

During an interview with E! News Leonardo recalled, “She said, ‘These are the two actors I want to work with. It’s incredible. She’s been a huge champion of cinema and giving other actors opportunities, so I’m very thankful. I’ve thanked her many times. I don’t know if I sent her an actual, physical thank-you gift, but I cannot thank her enough.”

Sharon mentioned the same incident in her memoir The Beauty of Living Twice, “This kid named Leonardo DiCaprio was the only one who nailed the audition. In my opinion he was the only one who came in and cried, begging his father to love him as he died in the scene... The studio said if I wanted him so much, I could pay him out of my own salary. So I did.”

The Quick and the Dead was released a year before Leonardo became popular with James Cameron's Titanic.

The Wolf of Wall Street star recently starred in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, which was released in cinemas on October 20, 2023.