We often idolize our favorite stars. But they are as human as we are. ‘Barbie‘ star America Ferrera is an accomplished, Oscar-nominated actress herself, and yet she had a reaction that most of us would have after we meet the legendary Leonardo DiCaprio.
The actress recently opened up about how she could not stop herself from crying after she met superstar Leonardo DiCaprio over a decade ago during an awards ceremony. While the actress has rose to more fame after her latest blockbuster movie ‘Barbie‘, she has been in Hollywood as a recognized face for a long time. Despite that, America fangirled hard when she met DiCaprio.
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“I Hope Leonardo DiCaprio Never Sees This”: America Ferrera Opens Up About The “Embarrassing” Meeting With ‘Titanic’ Star
During her recent appearance on the ‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’, ‘America Ferrera recalled how her first meeting with Leonardo DiCaprio at the 2007 Screen Actors Guild Awards had left her in tears. The 39-year-old ‘Barbie’ star had won an award at the event for her role in ‘Ugly Betty‘ at the time.
Speaking further about her meeting with DiCaprio, America explained that being starstruck often catches her off guard at industry events, especially when it’s someone she had a “childhood connection” with.
“I watched Titanic in the movie theaters seven times. [I was] 13, 14 [years old], prime time to be in love with Leonardo DiCaprio, right? OK, so first time I went to the SAG Awards, and I had won for Ugly Betty, I had been onstage and the whole thing,” she recalled. “I was feeling kind of like, ‘I belong here, this is cool.’“
Ferrera said she ended up saying “hello” to DiCaprio, and unexpectedly burts into tears. “And I promptly departed [from] him, went around the corner and just started weeping,” Ferrera said.
“And my husband, then-boyfriend, was with me and he was like, ‘I am so embarrassed right now,’” Ferrera said, speaking of her spouse, Ryan Piers Williams, who then encouraged her to “stop crying.”
“I hope Leonardo DiCaprio never sees this,” Ferrera told Meyers, who joked that he “probably won’t.”
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“I’m Still Recovering From It”: America Ferrera Was Starstruck By Tom Hanks Too
This isn’t the first time Ferrera has been starstruck. She recently shared her excitement about receiving praise from Tom Hanks at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Virtuosos Awards. Ferrera is nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in the 2023 blockbuster ‘Barbie’.
Speaking at an event related to the awards, she told correspondent Dave Karger onstage that she was still enthused about kind words from Tom Hanks. “I don’t know that I’m ready to talk about it. I’m not ready to talk about what he said, but I guess whenever anyone asks me, who were the actors you grew up wanting to be? I’d say Tom Hanks,” Ferrera told Karger.
“I wanted to be Tom Hanks more than any other actor. I did. He’s every man. He’s like, we all see ourselves in him, right?” she added.
Assuring that she is “not going to cry” on the stage, an emotional Ferrera recalled the moment when Hanks complimented her. “He came up to me at an event and he said very nice things to me, and I’m still recovering from it. That was truly the moment where I felt like … ‘Okay, I’m happy, I can tap out now.’ Tom Hanks just said nice things to me,” she said.
Ferrera is competing for the Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in ‘Barbie‘. She is one of the ten actors who earned their first-ever nominations for the March 10 awards show this year. The show will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
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