Guillermo del Toro Explains Why Leonardo DiCaprio Left Nightmare Alley

Guillermo del Toro Explains Why Leonardo DiCaprio Left Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley Director Guillermo del Toro explains why his original choice for the lead role, Leonardo DiCaprio, had to leave the movie.

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Guillermo del Toro Explains Why Leonardo DiCaprio Left Nightmare Alley

Guillermo del Toro explains why Leonardo DiCaprio had to leave his latest film, Nightmare Alley. The Mexican director’s newest project is his first since 2017’s The Shape of Water, which won him both Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards. Nightmare Alley had its premiere at the beginning of this month and is set to hit theaters on Friday, December 17.

In somewhat of a departure for del Toro, who is known for exploring the supernatural in his films, Nightmare Alley is a neo-noir psychological thriller, adapting the 1946 novel already brought to the big screen in 1947. The story sees con-man Stan Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) partner with corrupt psychiatrist Dr. Lilith Ritter (Cate Blanchett) to make big money off his scams, only to find himself in over his head. The star-studded cast also includes Toni Collette, Richard Jenkins, Willem Dafoe, Rooney Mara, and David Strathairn, among others.

Cooper wasn’t always eyed for the lead role, however, and in an interview with TheWrap, del Toro explains why his original choice, DiCaprio, had to leave the project. The issue, it seems, was purely a scheduling one, with something in the movie star’s calendar preventing him from being available on the director’s timeline. While that can sometimes be worked-around, del Toro says he was unwilling to lose the other cast members he had envisioned in the roles, who are also high in demand. Check out his full quote below:

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He was interested because we have a common fascination for the carnival, but very quickly within the process it was evident that there was gonna be a conflict of dates. I needed enough time to put together the cast in the way that I had seen it. We had written the part of Lilith for Cate Blanchett, I had written the part of Clem for Willem Dafoe, I had written Bruno for Ron Perlman, etc. So we couldn’t be hurried into shooting really quick, because we needed to make all these shooting schedules coalesce into the movie. He departed on really good terms.

While many productions would likely move heaven and earth to cast DiCaprio, it’s understandable given the general prestige of the Nightmare Alley cast that del Toro couldn’t find a way to make it work. It’s a testament to his profile as an artist that he can write scripts envisioning name talent in almost every role and manage to work with almost everyone on his list. Plus, going with Academy Award-nominee Bradley Cooper is by no means settling for less.

While the prospect of a del Toro-DiCaprio collaboration is surely an enticing one for fans of their work, the move to cast Cooper seems to have paid off. Reviews of Nightmare Alley have been universal in their praise for the actor, and largely positive on the film as a whole as well, with many expecting it to be a major awards contender this year. Audiences will be able to decide for themselves whether they would’ve preferred DiCaprio in the role when the movie opens later this week.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/nightmare-alley-leonardo-dicaprio-exit-guillermo-del-toro-explained/

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