Explained: Why Natalie Portman was fired from starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet

Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes is considered one of Hollywood’s best romantic films. While Claire Danes impressed the audience with her portrayal, she wasn’t the first choice to play Juliet. Yes, it was Natalie Portman , who was earlier cast in the adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic. At that time the _Black Swan_ actress had just made her debut with Leon: The Professional followed by lead roles in Developing and Heat. When the production of _Romeo + Juliet_ , commenced, Natalie was 13 years old and in the original tale too the age of Juliet is 13. So, we can say that Baz was staying true to the story. However, Leonardo was 21 at that time and showing a dramatic romance between the star-crossed lovers with such a great age gap garnered a lot of controversy. As per Unilaid, Natalie discussed about her short involvement in the film and said, “It was a complicated situation and […] at the time I was 13 and Leonardo was 21.” She went on to add, it ‘wasn’t appropriate in the eyes of the film company or the director, Baz’.

She left the role saying, “It was kind of a mutual decision too that it just wasn’t going to be right at the time.” Baz then zeroed in on Claire Danes, who was starring in My So-Called Life at that time. The actress was 17 at that time as per the filmmaker and company, the age gap was not big enough to create any issues or trouble. Produced under the banner of Bazmark Productions, the film also featured Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino and Diane Venora in prominent roles. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram.