Well, he did have a cameo in 2015’s Room, sort of:
In all seriousness, often, cameos aren’t about the money. It’s usually something an actor does if they know the people who are making the movie or just as a favour to their friends.
Take Matt Damon for example; he did his cameos in Thor: Ragnarok and Deadpool 2 for next to nothing. Moreover, since they weren’t credited cameos, the production didn’t even have to pay him the minimum salary as set by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
Similarly, Brad Pitt, who was in consideration to play Cable in Deadpool 2 before Josh Brolin was cast, charged one cup of coffee for his hilarious ‘blink and you’ll miss’ cameo. Ryan Reynolds personally rang up Pitt, who did the cameo as a favour since his children loved the first Deadpool movie.
In other cases, cameos are mutually beneficial to both parties. Tom Cruise, whose career was reeling after ‘couch-gate’ and his comments regarding Scientology, took on the part of Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder in a bid to show the audiences his lighter side. In fact, Grossman’s unique look was his idea.
“I want fat hands, and I want to dance!” his words not mine. Moreover, the move paid rich dividends, his role in Tropic Thunder helped him claw back into the good graces of general audiences and after the rousing success of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in 2011, he was back to his conventional position; at the top of the A-List.
Having established that, I feel reasonably confident in suggesting that money isn’t the reason DiCaprio shies away from cameos. Why then? Well, for starters, he might not have been offered many cameos, or he wasn’t a fan of those that were offered to him.
Secondly, DiCaprio has established a reputation as a ‘serious’ actor and doesn’t appear as playful as the likes of Pitt and Damon. Perhaps he feels pointless cameos will take away from his image. You don’t expect Daniel Day-Lewis to make cameos, do you?
I’d wager it’s the first one; he presumably hasn’t been offered many cameos he’s excited about doing. Whatever the reason, it’s almost certainly not money.
How can I say that? Because he took a 50 percent pay cut to work with Tarantino on the upcoming Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
DiCaprio, Pitt and Pacino - What a wonderful threesome
Granted, 50 percent of his usual $20 Million fee is still an astounding $10 Million, but it’s the principle that counts. DiCaprio, like many actors who love the craft, doesn’t appear to be driven by money.
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