Getty Image / Rose Hartman
1993’s Hocus Pocus is on the ‘Mt. Rushmore of Halloween Movies for Kids’ but it was almost a very, very different film according to director Kenny Ortega.
In a recent interview with EW, the Hocus Pocus director revealed how close the role of Max, played by Omri Katz, was from being handed to Leonardo DiCaprio. To be clear, the role was probably Leo’s if he wanted it but the timing was off and Leo was already committed.
At the time of casting for Hocus Pocus, Leonardo DiCaprio was already committed to filming What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, one of the movies that served as a launchpad for his illustrious A-List career. Director Kenny Ortega explains how Leo almost ended up in the Halloween classic alongside Bette Middler and Sarah Jessica Parker:
“[My casting team] called me up and said, ‘We’re sending someone in, but you can’t have him,'” Ortega remembers. “They said, ‘We want you to know who he is, we want you to meet him, he’s agreed to come in to meet you, but he can’t do the role. He’s being offered a movie with [Robert] De Niro and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.'”
“He came in, and he was just amazing — so extraordinary and unique — he came and he was stressed. He said, ‘I feel bad that I’m here because I can’t do this, because I’m really focused on these other things,’ and I said, ‘Understandably,'” Ortega explains. “We shared a sandwich together. He was super cool. When he walked out, I called my casting agents and I said, ‘You’re murdering me, here.'”
The role of Max had proved a difficult one to cast but Omri Katz was a perfect fit for the role. His acting career, however, would never really pan out after Hocus Pocus. Katz appeared in 6 episodes of The John Larroquette Show and a few other TV/film credits but nothing close to the cultural staying power of Hocus Pocus.
EW states that these days he’s “ambassador of the cannabis culture.” Aren’t we all?
Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Killers of the Flower Moon hits screens this week and will easily jump to #1 a the box office with Leo, DeNiro, and Scorcese all part of the project.