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20 things you didn’t know about Baz Lurhman’s Romeo & Juliet

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Leonardo and Claire had crushes on each other IRL. Danes said that at the time, there was a "spark" between the duo but that, "It was too big for us to really accept."

01

DiCaprio flew to Australia on his own dime to ensure the film got made.

02

Natalie Portman was Baz Luhrmann's first choice to play Juliet and even filmed a few scenes with DiCaprio but at the age of 13, against DiCaprio's 21, she explained that, "Fox said it looked like [Leo] was molesting me when we kissed."

03

The windstorm that set the scene on 'Verona Beach' for Mercutio's line, "A plague on both your houses!" was a real hurricane. The crew barely had time for two shots before having to wrap to avoid danger.

04

Marlon Brando (left) expressed interest in playing the part of Father Lawrence but pulled out citing personal family problems. The part went to British actor Peter Postlethwaite (right).

05

Radiohead wrote the music for the film's end titles after Luhrmann sent them the final 20 minutes of the movie. This became their song, Exit Music (for a film) that was released on their Ok Computer album in 1997.

06

Director Baz Luhrmann confessed that before he knew who DiCaprio was, he had seen a paparazzi picture of his leading-man-to-be, exclaiming, "That's how Romeo should look. If only he could act."

07

The famous Hawaiian shirt Leo wore is now on display at Opening Ceremony in NYC.

08

In the iconic scene of Romeo & Juliet's first kiss, the camera spins around the couple in a tiny elevator. This was actually filmed by constructing the elevator in sections that were manually lifted and shifted into place as the camera whirled around the two actors.

09

DiCaprio's delivery of his final monologue over Juliet's comatose body was apparently so good that it made actress Dane cry when she was supposed to be unconscious.

10

The soundtrack went platinum 5 times in Australia.

11

Ewan McGregor, Sam Rockwell and Christian Bale auditioned for the role of Mercutio before Baz Luhrmann decided to cast Mercutio as of African descent.

12

Romeo's famous hawaiian shirt was bought off-the-rack from Prada.

13

The ‘huge’ statue of Jesus in the film was in fact only two feet tall.

14

Danes wore a wig throughout the movie and even used a special 'aquatic' one for the underwater scenes.

15

The first scene Danes and DiCaprio shot together was the topless scene after Romeo and Juliet sleep together for the first time. Awkward!

16

The film's hair stylist, Aldo Signoretti, was kidnapped and held for ransom by a local gang who 'returned' him by throwing the stylist out of a moving car, breaking his leg.

17

DiCaprio recalls that he knew Danes was the right Juliet when she was the only actress brave enough to look him directly in the eye during auditions.

18

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Aaliyah, Kate Winslet and Christina Ricci were also considered for the role of Juliet.

19

Leo was Luhrman’s first and only choice for Romeo. The director said he wasn’t interested in making the film without him.

20

How do we love thee, Romeo & Juliet, oh let us count the ways

We can hardly believe it's been twenty years since Baz Luhrmann's game-changing cinematic masterpiece, William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, filled our screens and, of course, our hearts. Though you might know every lovelorn look between Leo and Claire, every lyric to the still-perfect soundtrack or every poetic phrase in the script, here are 20 things you just might not.

Shakespeare

Romeo & juliet

Romeo & Juliet

Leonardo DiCaprio

Claire Danes

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