Leonardo DiCaprio forced to deny he was gay when questioned by famous co-star

Miriam Margolyes has told the story of her unlikely fleeting friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio – and recalled the time he was forced to deny he was gay after she grilled him on the topic.

The 84-year-old national treasure and the Blood Diamond actor, 50, were filming in Mexico City for Baz Luhrmann’s 1997 Romeo and Juliet flick when they went on a shopping trip together and she made an assumption about his sexuality.

‘I said, “I’m going to the markets,” and he said, “Can I come with?” And I said, “With pleasure!”‘ she recalled in an interview with Daily Mail columnist Bryony Gordon.

‘He came in a dress – I don’t know why he was wearing a dress, you’d have to ask him. I remember it was like a summer dress – it was hot that day,’ she explained.

‘I thought Leonardo DiCaprio was gay,’ Margolyes joked, adding: ‘He wore a dress, and I don’t know, you felt he was looking for comment. I think he likes people talking about him.’

The Harry Potter star then recalled how she told Leonardo her suspicion about his sexuality.

‘I said to him: “I think you’re gay.” He said to me: “I am not, I am not.” I was insistent, saying: “I think you’ll find you are, you’re wrong,”‘ she recalled before admitting: ”Anyway, he’s not gay. My gaydar was at fault there.’

While Miriam hasn’t heard from the Shutter Island actor since, she described him as a ‘sweetheart’ and a ‘lovely bloke’.

Leonardo has a reputation for his age gap relationships, as he’s dated a string of 20-something models and is currently seeing Vittoria Ceretti, 27, who he was first linked with in 2023.

In an April 2025 interview with Vogue France, Vittoria explained the one annoying aspect of her relationship with the A-lister.

‘As soon as you’re in a relationship with someone who has a larger following than you, you become “girlfriend of” – or “boyfriend of”, for that matter,’ she explained.

‘And that can be extremely annoying. Suddenly, people are talking about you as so-and-so’s girlfriend who was so-and-so’s ex. So, it’s not nice to think that you can’t love whoever you want, because of the labels people need to stick on you.’

Leo’s last relationship was with Camila Morrone, 26, who he split from last year. He has also been linked to Gigi Hadid and other models.

Having just turned 50, in an interview for Esquire, the Titanic actor told filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson that he feels nearly two decades younger than he actually is.

The interviewer urged him to answer as quickly as he could: ‘If you didn’t know how old you are, how old are you right now?’

He replied: ’32,’ before quipping that he ‘turned emotionally 35 last year.’

‘You have a desire to just be more honest and not waste your time. You have to just be much more upfront.

‘It’s almost a responsibility because much more of your life is behind you than it is ahead of you.’

This comes after X Factor singer Diana Vickers recalled a bizarre moment she met the famed actor on Metro‘s Just Between Us podcast.

‘I did meet Leo once’, the singer told Metro’s sex columnist before adding: ‘He will have no memory of meeting me.’

Diana revealed: ‘One of his mates invited me around to his house. I thought it was going to be a party.

‘Then I ended up just sitting with him watching telly. It was a really, really bizarre moment.’

However, Diana believed this was more than just a one-off and The Revenant star ‘has a system’.

‘So, Leo’s obviously at the helm of it – and he surrounds himself with these good-looking lads, who are all looking for a good time,’ she shared.

‘The good-looking lads go and source these hot women for him – it’s really dodgy.

‘That stuff happens a lot in Hollywood. These men have got so much fame and power, and they don’t want to grow up.

‘They just want to be surrounded by beautiful young women all the time. I am not generalising Leo here, I think that’s just what happens.

‘It’s quite weird actually.’

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