Corey Feldman claims Johnny Depp forced him out of ‘Gilbert Grape’ role by telling producers he was a junkie
Feldman, now 53, said he’s “still bitter” about how everything went down, claiming Johnny Depp pushed him out.
“I was actually cast to play Leonardo DiCaprio’s role,” he said on an episode of Billy Corgan’s “Magnificent Others” podcast. “I never saw the film because I’m still bitter. Bitter leaf in that one. But yes, I was originally cast for that role.”
“Did they push you out?” Corgan asked, and Feldman pointed all the blame on Depp.
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Corey Feldman claimed Johnny Depp forced him out of “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” role. (Getty Images)
“He was cast after I was, and apparently whispered into the producer’s ear that he wasn’t fond of me, and thought that I was… he said that I was a junkie and that he didn’t work with junkies.”
“And this is the first time I remember ever telling this story, so I’m sure I’m gonna get hung by this one.”
Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Depp and Feldman regarding the claims.
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Corey Feldman claimed he was sober in 1993 when he lost the role for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Feldman insisted he was sober at the time of the casting.
“I had just gotten sober,” he told Corgan. “I had just gotten out of rehab. I had turned my life around, and, in fact, was trying to help River [Phoenix] at the time, who [Depp] was running with at the time, as we all know.”
“As you can imagine, there was a bit of a thorn in the side on that one. And, had I not been pushed out and done that role, who knows what would have happened from that point forward.”
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Leonardo DiCaprio sits in a bathtub while Johnny Depp watches in a scene from the 1993 film “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” (Paramount/Getty Images)
In fact, DiCaprio’s performance as Depp’s disabled younger brother landed him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
“There was a bitter tea there,” Feldman recalled. “But that said, you don’t hang on those, you get past ’em.”
According to Feldman, he was also in the running for “Titanic.” DiCaprio took that now-famous role as well.
“Ironically, just a couple years later, I also was up for ‘Titanic,’ so there was kind of a double banger with Leo,” he claimed. “But that was OK, because that one I wasn’t as close. I was up for it, I read for it, I know that I was in the contention somewhere.”
Corey Feldman, pictured on the right next to Corey Haim, gained fame as a child after appearing in a McDonald’s commercial at the age of 3. (Patrick McMullan/Getty Images)
Feldman began his acting career at the age of 3 by starring in a McDonald’s commercial. He landed major roles with “Gremlins,” “The Goonies” and “Stand By Me.” The actor later turned to music and released three studio albums.
Feldman struggled with addiction throughout his early career and eventually accused several men in the entertainment industry of sexually abusing him and Corey Haim.
