United Kingdom, Sept. 24 -- Leonardo DiCaprio was once warned that his name was "too ethnic" for Hollywood.

The 50-year-old actor is one of the world's highest-paid movie stars - but he was told by his first agent that he'd need to change his name in order to thrive in the film business.

During an appearance on the New Heights podcast, DiCaprio recalled: "I go, 'What do you mean, it's Leonardo DiCaprio?' They go, 'No, too ethnic. They're never going to hire you.'"

The award-winning actor was actually given a new name to use by his former agent.

He was told: "'Your new name is Lenny Williams'. I said, 'What is Lenny?' . 'We took your middle name [Wilhelm] and we made it your [last name]. Now you're Lenny.'"

However, DiCaprio's dad, Ge...