On-screen chemistry doesn’t guarantee on-set camaraderie. Looking for proof? Let me direct you to one of Baz Luhrmann’s most beloved films, 1996 Romeo + Juliet, which starred Leonardo Dicaprio and Claire Danes as the titular star-crossed lovers. I’ve always imagined the two actors to be best friends – just like DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were while filming Titanic. How wrong I was.
Romeo + Juliet saw Baz Luhrmann adapt and update Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy for the big screen. Viewers ended up not in the medieval city of Verona, Italy, but in Verona Beach, an oceanfront neighborhood of a post-modern city slightly reminiscent of LA. The story itself remains roughly the same: Romeo and Juliet come from two rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues. After meeting at a masquerade ball and falling head over heels in love, they begin a secret romance that threatens to upend a fragile peace.
The Danes weren’t Luhrmann’s first choice for Juliet. The director had considered casting Natalie Portman, though he ultimately decided the age gap would be inappropriate. Talk to Hello Giggles, Portman recalls, “At the time, I was 13 and Leonardo was 21. And it wasn’t appropriate in the eyes of the film company or the director, Baz. It was also kind of a mutual decision that it just wasn’t going to be good at the time. She went on to note, “I think the movie came out really, really beautifully and Claire Danes did a really, really wonderful job.”
Wonderful job or not, since the film premiered in 1996, various reports have alleged that Danes and DiCaprio didn’t always agree, with Danes finding DiCaprio’s constant pranks annoying. Danes was just 17 at the time, while DiCaprio was 21. The young actress is said to have found Leo a little immature and he found Clare “uptight”. Reportedly, the couple barely spoke to each other when they weren’t shooting scenes together.
It’s possible these reports were overstated for a good story, though. The Danes may have found DiCaprio’s pranks a little frustrating, but that didn’t stop her from acknowledging his more loving qualities. Talk to W-magazine, Danes hinted that she, like everyone else at the time, had a bit of a crush on her co-star: “It was problematic. I couldn’t really have a crush on the guy I had the crush on. crush professionally,” she began. “A good number of gay people have told me that when they were kids they watched Romeo + Juliet, they didn’t know who they wanted to kiss. It was all about Leo! And I completely understand.