Rex said the reality stars were “blown away” by DiCaprio recognizing them.

Leonardo DiCaprio can thank Simon Rex for introducing him to the Jersey Shore cast: ‘I wanna meet them’

Rex said the reality stars were "blown away" by DiCaprio recognizing them.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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on March 11, 2026 6:23 p.m. ET

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Documented *Jersey Shore* fanboy Leonardo DiCaprio owes a lot to Simon Rex.

During his Wednesday visit to *The Drew Barrymore Show*, Rex recalled a lucky encounter he once had with the *One Battle After Another *star. The memory came up during a game of "Simon Says," which saw host Drew Barrymore read off various claims from Rex in an effort to spot the lie.

"I introduced Leonardo DiCaprio to the *Jersey Shore* cast at a club," Barrymore read. "I am going to say that that is true."

"That happened, yeah," Rex confirmed. "It's so L.A.! I was out at the club and — I'm not friends with Leo — but I'd say what's up to him and he was at a table and the *Jersey Shore *was at a table like across [from us]."

The *Red Rocket* star — who rose to fame as a video jockey, has a long history with MTV programming and once provided commentary for *Jersey Shore* — recognized the cast members immediately. And to his surprise, so did DiCaprio.

Simon Rex at the Los Angeles premiere of "Sandiwara".

Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty

"I was over saying what's up to him and he goes, 'Is that the* Jersey Shore* guys over there?'" Rex recalled. "[I ask] 'Did you watch that?' He goes, 'Yeah.' He's like, 'I wanna meet them.' So I brought him over."

Rex noted that he felt very satisfied after making the introduction, adding, "They were just blown away like, 'He knows who we are,' and it was just this funny moment where he was talking to them and I just sat back like, 'I did my work. I'm done here.'"

"Pop culture meets pop culture," Barrymore noted, summing it up.

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When *Jersey Shore *debuted on MTV in 2009, DiCaprio wasn't the only viewer who became obsessed. The series boasted impressive ratings and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon for giving fans a peek into the lives of several New Jersey 20-somethings navigating interpersonal drama and party-filled lives at a beach house in Seaside Heights. The cast included Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Pauly D, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagnino, and more.

Leonardo DiCaprio and the cast of 'Jersey Shore'.

Mike Coppola/Getty; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

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Though the *One Battle *actor rarely discusses his personal life and tends to focus interviews around his latest film, he previously let slip that he was an avid viewer of the show during a 2010 chat with *NBC*.

"It's a funny show," the actor told the outlet while promoting that year's release, *Shutter Island*. "You gotta admit it."

He also admitted to meeting the cast at the time, sharing that they approached to say hi, to which he "shouted some of the lines" from the show.

Watch Rex recount his pop culture worlds colliding in the clip above.

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