It happened more than a decade ago, but director Danny Boyle has just revealed that he felt guilty for choosing Leonardo DiCaprio instead of Ewan McGregor as 'The Beach' lead actor.
- Dec 23, 2016
AceShowbiz - Sixteen years ago, Ewan McGregor thought he would be the lead actor in "The Beach", which is based on the novel with the same name. But it turned out that BAFTA-winning director Danny Boyle decided to choose Leonardo DiCaprio to raise more funding for the film. The upset Ewan had a feud with Boyle ever since.
Thankfully, the feud is now over. The actor and the director are in good terms again. Speaking to Empire, Boyle reflected on how he had been disrespectful towards Ewan.
"We weren't particularly respectful towards him, way back in the day," the director said. "But he's always been very, very generous. So we met and talked and I said how sorry I was, the way we had treated him. And it rebuilt from there."
Earlier this year, Ewan opened up about his disappointment over how the situation was handled more than a decade ago. He'd always thought he was "Danny Boyle's actor," due to the fact that they had worked together in "Shallow Graves", cult classic "Trainspotting" and "A Life Less Ordinary". But when Boyle chose Leonardo instead of him, he felt bummed.
"It was almost nothing to do with 'The Beach'. I mean, of course, it was all over 'The Beach' and my understanding that I was playing the role," said Ewan. "To discover that I wasn't, came as a bit of a shock. It wasn't just not getting that role. It was [the way] it was handled that wasn't very clever. I did knock me a little bit."
Ewan added that he regretted the times when he and Danny didn't work together. "I put so much importance in being their actor. It defined me as an actor. I felt like it was a badge on my sleeve: I am Danny Boyle's actor. It felt like it was the most important thing of my career," he said. "Eighteen years since that point, I just regret all the films that we didn't make together, me and Danny."
The drama has been over and left behind, though. Ewan and Danny are now teaming up for "T2: Trainspotting", with most of the main cast from the first movie returning.
