Corey Feldman has revealed that Johnny Depp allegedly orchestrated his removal from What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? by labeling him as a “junkie.”
The 53-year-old performer confessed that he still harbors too much resentment to watch the 1993 film. Initially selected to portray Arnie, the differently-abled younger sibling of Johnny’s main character, Feldman was later replaced by Leonardo DiCaprio, who went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.
During a conversation with Billy Corgan on the musician’s Magnificent Others podcast, Feldman shared, “I was actually cast to play Leonardo DiCaprio’s role. I never saw the film because I’m still bitter. Bitter leaf in that one. But yes, I was originally cast for that role.”
When asked about being removed from the project, he elaborated, “Johnny Depp. He was cast after I was, and apparently whispered into the producers’ ear that he wasn’t fond of me, and thought — he said that I was a junkie and that he didn’t work with junkies. And this is the first time I’ve ever [told] this story, so I’m sure I’m gonna get hung by this one.”
Feldman maintained that he wasn’t using substances during that period and had “turned [his] life around,” making him wonder about the potential trajectory his career might have taken if he’d kept the role. He explained, “I was sober. I had just gotten sober. I had just gotten out of rehab. I had turned my life around and, in fact, was trying to help River [Phoenix] at the time, who [Johnny] was running with at the time, as we all know.
“As you can imagine, there was a bit of a thorn in the side on that one. And, had I not been pushed out and done that role, who knows what would have happened from that point forward…”You don’t hang on those; you get past ’em.”
Two years after this incident, Feldman found himself competing against Leonardo for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic but acknowledged he wasn’t as serious a contender. He noted, “Ironically, just a couple years later, I also was up for ‘Titanic,’ so there was kind of a double banger with Leo.
“But that was OK, because that one I wasn’t as close. I was up for it, I read for it, I know that I was in the contention somewhere.”
In another instance, Feldman competed with his Goonies castmate Sean Astin for the role of Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. While he “got pretty close,” he believes the 54-year-old actor was better suited for the part.
He remarked: “I was actually up for Sean’s role, and I heard I got pretty close on that as well. Although I couldn’t have gained the weight, so I’ll give him that. He did a great job aesthetically being able to add that weight. It’s something I cannot physically do.”
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