Leonardo DiCaprio was "starstruck" by Luke Perry
The Oscar-winning actor had admired the 'Beverly Hills 90210' actor - who died at the age of 52 in in March 2019 of complications from a stroke - from a young age and recalled the "excitement" of him being part of the cast of Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
12 March 2025
Appearing alongside the director and co-star Margot Robbie, Leonardo said in new documentary 'I Am Luke Perry': "I was immediately struck by his kindness.
"Having been born and raised in Los Angeles, and worked in this industry my entire life, it has, in many ways, greatly shaped who I am.
"There was an immediate sense of excitement in seeing Luke Perry on set. It was incredible.
"I remember being in my teens, and he was the manifestation of the new [James] Dean on television, and everyone was crazy about him.
"I felt this overwhelming feeling of being starstruck."
The 50-year-old actor quickly hit it off with Luke and remembered the 'Riverdale' star as being an "incredible generous" person.
He continued: "But then he and I got to sit down and talk about Los Angeles, the '90s, his life, where his career had gone, where my career had gone, where his life [had gone], my life [had gone].
"I was so, struck, how do I say this, by the kindness of his character. [He was] just an incredibly generous human being."
Luke died just four months before 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' premiered, and that summer, Leonardo praised his late co-star as the "coolest dude on Earth".
He told reporters at the premiere: "I grew up with him on '90210', looking up to him as literally the coolest dude on Earth, and honestly, when I was on set, I was starstruck.
"We got to sit down and chat. He couldn't have been a more amazing human being. It's a real tragic loss."
At the time of Luke's shock death, the 'Titanic' actor paid tribute to him on his social media accounts.
He wrote on X, which was then known as Twitter: "Luke Perry was a kindhearted and incredibly talented artist.
"It was an honor to be able to work with him. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his loved ones."
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