Why Leonardo DiCaprio Passed on Playing Anakin Skywalker in 'Star Wars'

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Leonardo DiCaprio as Anakin Skywalker? It almost happened!

The 41-year-old star says he once took a meeting with George Lucas about the coveted Star Wars role, but ultimately chose to pass on the project.

"[I] just didn't feel ready to take that dive. At that point," DiCaprio said in a previous interview with ShortList, confirming that Lucas wanted him for the part of Anakin and that he chose not to accept it. The interview was conducted about six years ago, when DiCaprio was 35 and starring in Inception, but is now re-surfacing amid Star Wars: The Force Awakens hype.


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DiCaprio was asked about several almost roles, including Robin in Joel Schumacher's Batman Foreverand 2002's titular Spider-Man, which was eventually played by Tobey Maguire. Showing a "well-honed trick of dodging questions," the interviewer notes, DiCaprio kept his answers short and sweet.

"As I recall I took the meeting, but didn’t want to play the role. Joel Schumacher is a very talented director but I don’t think I was ready for anything like that," the actor said of Batman Forever. Asked whether he felt like he "dodged a bullet" by passing on the project, DiCaprio responded with only a laugh.

DiCaprio was similarly guarded while discussing Spider-Man, stating simply: "That was another one of those situations, similar to Robin, where I didn’t feel ready to put on that suit yet. They got in touch with me."


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But would The Revenant star consider suiting up for a superhero role in the future?

"You never know," he teased. "They're getting better and better as far as complex characters in these movies. I haven’t yet. But no, I don’t rule out anything."


What kind of superhero would you like to see DiCaprio play? Hit the comments with your picks!

Speaking of DiCaprio's roles that could have been -- Pretty Little Liars show runner Marlene King revealed to ET earlier this year that the star was actually cast in her 1995 film, Now and Then.

"The one role that originally was different was Leonardo DiCaprio was going to play the Vietnam vet, but something happened and he had a conflict," she revealed. "I know, it's crazy!"

"Brendan Fraser was a last minute swap for him," King continued. "But Brendan did such a good job, so it was all good."


WATCH: Behind the Scenes of 'Romeo + Juliet' With Leonardo DiCaprio!

One year later, DiCaprio delivered one of his most beloved performances in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. ET was on set with the then-21-year-old star, who admitted -- even then! -- that he might never marry.

"For me to get married now would take a lot," DiCaprio told ET at the time. "Marriage wouldn't even be in my realm."

Go behind the scenes of 10 of the biggest '90s movies -- including Romeo + Juliet -- in the video below!