DiCaprio recalls agent pushing Lenny Williams as his name

Leonardo DiCaprio said his first agent told him his real name was "too ethnic" and pushed a stage name on him when he was about 12 or 13, an episode the actor recounted while promoting his new film on a recent podcast. The agent reportedly suggested he adopt the name Lenny Williams; DiCaprio said his father, George DiCaprio, rejected the idea after seeing a headshot altered to the new name, tearing it up and saying, "Over my dead body."

DiCaprio described the encounter on the New Heights podcast, saying the agent told him, "They're never going to hire you," unless he changed his name. He recalled asking, "What is Lenny Williams?" and being told the proposed surname came from his middle name, Wilhelm. Benicio del Toro, who appeared alongside DiCaprio on the episode, offered a parallel anecdote that his agent once recommended the name "Benny Del."

The exchange was part of a broader conversation about the actors' early careers and the film they were promoting, One Battle After Another, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The movie, which features a headline role for DiCaprio and co-stars including Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, was released in late September. DiCaprio and del Toro...