Who did Johnny Depp portray in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape'? Corey Feldman accuses actor of pushing him out of the movie 

Corey Feldman is blaming Johnny Depp for pushing him out of a big role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).

The 53-year-old actor sat down for a guest appearance on Billy Corgan's "The Magnificent Others" podcast this Wednesday, March 26, where he reflected on his feelings about losing out on the opportunity. The Stand By Me and The Goonies actor told Corgan, 58, that he was almost cast alongside the Pirates of the Caribbean actor, 61, in the 1993 film.

Corey Feldman said he was slated to play Depp's character's disabled younger brother, but he lost the role to Leonardo DiCaprio, who nabbed a Best Supporting Oscar nomination for his performance.

In the film, Johnny Depp embodies the role of Gilbert Grape, the older brother of DiCaprio's character, Arnie. He spends his life taking care of the latter and working shifts at the grocery store. The film chronicles the character tackling situations like his father's suicide, his mother's morbid obesity, and his affair with a married woman.

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Corey Feldman says Johnny Depp slandered him on set, causing him to lose out on the role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape

Speaking to Morgan, Corey Feldman said of his failed venture:

“I was actually cast to play Leonardo DiCaprio’s role. I never saw the film because I’m still bitter. Bitter leaf in that one. But yes, I was originally cast for that role.”

When asked if he was deliberately pushed out, Corey Feldman name-dropped “Johnny Depp,” saying:

“He was cast after I was, and apparently whispered into the producers’ ear that he wasn’t fond of me, and thought — he said that I was a junkie and that he didn’t work with junkies. And this is the first time I’ve ever [told] this story, so I’m sure I’m gonna get hung by this one.”

Corey Feldman, however, revealed that he wasn't using drugs when he lost out on the role.

“I was sober. I had just gotten sober,” he said. “I had just gotten out of rehab. I had turned my life around, and, in fact, was trying to help River [Phoenix] at the time, who [Depp] was running with at the time, as we all know.”

Feldman added:

“As you can imagine, there was a bit of a thorn in the side on that one. And, had I not been pushed out and done that role, who knows what would have happened from that point forward.”

Looking on the bright side, however, he said, “you don’t hang on those, you get past ‘em." Just two years later, he revealed that he went up against Leonardo DiCaprio again for the role of Jack in the iconic Titanic.

“Ironically, just a couple years later, I also was up for Titanic, so there was kind of a double banger with Leo,” he told Corgan. “But that was OK, because that one I wasn’t as close. I was up for it, I read for it, I know that I was in the contention somewhere.”

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Corey Feldman eventually went on to try for the role of Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, though he lost the role to Sean Astin.