Gloria Steinem advised Leo DiCaprio to reject the role. Said it would wreck his heartthrob image. He listened. Christian Bale took it instead, became an icon. The irony isn't even the point. The actual story is how a woman with real power in Hollywood shaped a major career decision out of anxiety about image management, and got overruled by history. Bale made the smarter choice. Steinem was wrong. That's the Hollywood story worth telling.