Sideshow: DiCaprio says he was 'a real punk' in his youth.

"I was essentially a dwarf with the biggest mouth in the world and be up for any fight." So says Martin Scorsese's thespianic muse, Leonardo DiCaprio, about his tortured childhood. "I was a real punk, there's no question about it."

DiCap, 35, who shot to fame at 23 with the megahit Titanic, says his renown didn't help his romantic life.

"I had better success meeting girls before Titanic," he says. "My interactions with them didn't have all the stigma behind it, not to mention there wasn't a perception of her talking to me for only one reason."

Fame is weird, DiCap says. Especially Titanic-sized fame: "It was like there was a separate entity out there," he says. "Not to use a James Cameron reference, but it was like being . . . a little bit of an avatar."

The actor immediately cringes.

"That's going to sound extremely self-indulgent. . . . I'm already vomiting."

Isaak to replace Cowell?

Could warbler Chris Isaak really replace Simon Cowell on American Idol? Yes, says The Hollywood Reporter, which reports that the "Wicked Game" singer has had two meetings with Fox suits. Other candidates include Harry Connick Jr. and Bret Michaels.

Tape No. 6 is finally out!

RadarOnline has released the sixth Mel Gibson recording, which features the Braveheart star telling ex-gf Oksana Grigorieva that no one would believe her claim he punched her in the mouth on Jan. 6 while she was holding their baby, Lucia. "I want my child, and no one will believe you!" Mel says. He then demands she perform a sex act, saying "You [bleep] offend my [bleep] maleness, my masculinity, my being, my soul!"

Oksana's legal team says the tape is an admission that Mel hit her.

Is it Oksana's turn?

Spurious report du jour

Life & Style Weekly claims beloved Oscar-winning gal next door Sandra Bullock may be ready to take back her cheatin', allegedly sex-hungry, and allegedly super-weirdo husband, Jesse James.