DiCaprio hated being ‘piece of cute meat’

updated 6:55 p.m. ET Jan. 21, 2007

NEW YORK - Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to give up acting for a time after the hit movie “Titanic.”

DiCaprio was back to being considered a “another piece of cute meat” after the 1997 film’s spectacular box office success, an image he had wanted to get away from after his days on the cover of teen magazines, he told Newsweek for editions on newsstands Monday.

“It was pretty disheartening to be objectified like that. I wanted to stop acting for a little bit,” he said at the magazine’s Oscar panel discussion with other actors. “It changed my life in a lot of ways, but at the same time, I can’t say that it didn’t give me opportunities. It made me, for the first time, in control of my career.”

After many successful movies and critical acclaim, DiCaprio said he loves acting.

“There’s no other art form in the world that affects me more. There’s nothing that I walk away from feeling transformed by the way I do with cinema,” he said.

DiCaprio starred in a cast featuring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and others in “The Departed,” which earned Martin Scorsese a Golden Globe for best director.

MORE FROM MOVIES

Movies Section Front

NYT: Two films, two routes out of poverty Can word-of-mouth sell ‘The Road’? ‘New Moon’ takes in $142.8 million at box office Fans either loved ‘New Moon’ or really hated it John Woo on his own hits and misses Risk-taking Almodovar still has some modesty Will Ferrell is Hollywood's most overpaid star Bullock reveals heartwarming ‘Blind Side’ What's the biggest movie turkey you ever saw? Devoted ‘Twihards’ get their fix online Movies Section Front   Add Movies headlines to your news reader: