DiCaprio: I'm not a 'piece of cute meat'

U.S. actor Leonardo DiCaprio, giving his autograph to Japanese fans is seen amid cameras and vidoe recorders upon his arrival at the Japan Premiere of his film 'The Departed' in Tokyo Friday, Jan. 19, 2007. The film will be open in Japan Saturday, Jan. 20. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

NEW YORK - Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to give up acting for a time after the hit movie "Titanic."

DiCaprio was back to being considered a "another piece of cute meat" after the 1997 film's spectacular box office success, an image he had wanted to get away after his days on the cover of teen magazines, he told Newsweek for editions on newsstands Monday.

"It was pretty disheartening to be objectified like that. I wanted to stop acting for a little bit," he said at the magazine's Oscar panel discussion with other actors. "It changed my life in a lot of ways, but at the same time, I can't say that it didn't give me opportunities. It made me, for the first time, in control of my career."

After many successful movies and critical acclaim, DiCaprio said he loves acting.

"There's no other art form in the world that affects me more. There's nothing that I walk away from feeling transformed by the way I do with cinema," he said.

DiCaprio starred in a cast featuring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and others in "The Departed," which earned Martin Scorsese a Golden Globe for best director.