Trivia / What's Eating Gilbert Grape

• Actor-Inspired Element: Leonardo DiCaprio created Arnie's trademark flicking his finger against his nose, describing it as a sort of "brain wipe...like Arnie is massaging the inside of his brain."
• Dyeing for Your Art: Leonardo DiCaprio really did not bathe during the period in filming when Arnie refused to go near water.
• Hostility on the Set: In an interview, Johnny Depp admitted that he got easily irritated by Leonardo DiCaprio during the filming of the movie, though he ultimately respected him enough as an actor to get the job done.
  "It was a hard time for me, that film, for some reason. I don't know why. I tortured him (Leonardo DiCaprio). I really did. He was always talking about these video games, you know? I told you it was kind of a dark period... 'No, I will not give you a drag of my cigarette while you hide from your mother again, Leo.'[...] I'd say the absolute truth is that I respect Leo a lot. He worked really hard on that film, and spent a lot of time researching. He came to set and he was ready to work hard and all his ducks were in a row".
• Self-Adaptation: The screenplay and the original book were both written by Peter Hedges.
• Star-Making Role: For Leonardo DiCaprio.
• Write Who You Know: Writer Peter Hedges based Bonnie on a woman he used to know when he was growing up in Iowa.

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