Natalie Portman was fired from her role alongside Leonardo DiCaprio because ‘it wasn’t appropriate’ – News

Parting is such sweet heartbreak, alas Natalie Portman and Leonardo DiCaprio were not supposed to star alongside each other in a 1996 film.

Before his Titanic days, Leonardo DiCaprio broke hearts at 21 by appearing in Baz Luhrmann’s film Romeo + Juliet.

While he ultimately starred alongside 17-year-old Claire Danes, what many fans of the film may not know is that the role of Juliette was almost played by Natalie Portman.

Given his remarkable performance in May December And Jackieit seems that Portman would not have been considered the ideal actor to play Juliet.

However, when Romeo + Juliet started to be produced, there was a big problem.

Portman was only 13 when production on the film began (20th Century Fox)

The problem ? The age gap. Born in 1981, Portman was just a teenager – 13 to be exact – when Romeo + Juliet started production.

Granted, in the original tale, Juliet is actually supposed to be 13, so Lurhmann was staying true to the story’s roots by casting an actor of the same age.

Sadly, if we take into account DiCaprio’s age at the time – 21 – this is where things get a little complicated.

Given the vast age difference, not to mention the fact that one of the stars was an adult while the other was still a child, the casting choice for the two star-crossed lovers sparked much controversy.

Portman previously addressed this subject when discussing her brief involvement in the film, saying: “It was a complicated situation and (…) at the time I was 13 and Leonardo was 21.”

The actor went on to say that “it was not appropriate in the eyes of the film company or director Baz.”

Portman says decision to leave was ‘mutual’ (20th Century Fox)

As a result, Portman ended up dropping out of the role, saying, “It was also a mutual decision, because it just wasn’t going to be the right one at that time.”

With the role of Juliette up for grabs, Luhrmann chose Danes, who was starring in a series called My so called life at the time.

Danes was 17, but while there was still an age difference between her and DiCaprio, it obviously wasn’t tall enough to pose a problem for the filmmakers.