Mark Wahlberg & Leonardo DiCaprio Buried The Hatchet Over The Basketball Diaries

In the 1995 drama "The Basketball Diaries," Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio play best friends Mickey and Jim. But off-camera, tensions were high between these young actors during the movie's early days. Prior to filming, they had a run-in at an MTV Rock and Jock basketball game, with Wahlberg (who performed in his underwear at the game) blocking one of DiCaprio's shots. When they reunited for "The Basketball Diaries," neither thought the other was good enough to be in the film.

However, the beef between the pair was short-lived, and they were able to enjoy their time shooting "The Basketball Diaries." As Wahlberg told Extra, "Once I finally got to the point where I was able to audition and read with him, then we just both kinda looked at each other. We were like, 'Wow!' We were literally out that night and we became fast friends."

A few years ago, Wahlberg even shared a sweet clip on his Instagram that shows the two laughing and complimenting each other on the set of "The Basketball Diaries." They both say, "This is my buddy right here."

According to Mark Wahlberg, when Leonardo DiCaprio (who's been known to be negative during the casting process) found out who his "The Basketball Diaries" co-star might be, he wasn't pleased, to say the least. Wahlberg recalled to The Hollywood Reporter, "So he was like, 'This f****** a****** is not going to be in this movie.'" DiCaprio's eventual friendship with the rap star (and the guy who blocked him at the MTV basketball game) was largely due to casting director Avy Kaufman, who successfully persuaded DiCaprio to read with Marky Mark.

Still, this reading wasn't without tension. Wahlberg revealed to HuffPost, "Of course, I show up eight hours late by accident. I was in New York and there was a huge snowstorm, so I went to Puerto Rico for the weekend with my entourage. Coming home, my flight gets canceled. I show up late, he's [DiCaprio] sitting there pissed."

Despite Wahlberg's tardiness, the two were able to see that they were both qualified for the job. Three decades later, Wahlberg has used the situation as a teaching moment for the next generation. For example, while speaking to students at UCLA's 11th annual LEAP conference in 2018, he said, "We both had to really learn how to respect each other, and we earned it."