Buh-bye, Alexander: Leonardo DiCaprio tells why he opted to play Howard Hughes, not Alexander the Great.

Few industry watchers remember, but before Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese fixed their sights on Howard Hughes, they planned to film the life of a different legend--Alexander the Great. As the world knows, that project went forward with star Colin Farrell and director Oliver Stone. In an interview just after The Aviator's Los Angeles premiere, DiCaprio talked about choosing the modern conqueror over the ancient one.

On what drew him to Alexander:

[Alexander and Hughes were] from completely different time periods but [had] similar dynamics--men that keep on reaching for their ultimate goat and stop at nothing until they achieve that. Scorsese and I ... were both fascinated with the life of Alexander. It just happened that this script [The Aviator], this project, was way further advanced in the development stage than the script that landed in our lap on Alexander, and we wanted to go forth. We had an intention of doing them both, but you don't get everything you want all the time.

On choosing Hughes instead:

I don't have any regrets, certainly not alter seeing The Aviator again last night.

--A.S.