Leonardo DiCaprio names the one movie of his career that he’s watched the most: “A special moment to me”
Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed that while he “rarely” watches his own work, The Aviator is an exception to the rule.
According to the Oscar-winning actor, the 2004 epic, directed by Martin Scorsese, was a turning point in his career. DiCaprio had been involved in the project for several years before it ever reached screens, and for that reason, it holds a special place in his heart.
In a new conversation with Paul Thomas Anderson, the director of DiCaprio’s new movie, One Battle After Another, for Esquire, he was asked, “Do you ever watch any of your old movies?” In response, DiCaprio shared: “I rarely watch any of my films, but if I’m being honest, there’s one that I have watched more than others. It’s The Aviator.“
DiCaprio explained: “That’s simply because it was such a special moment to me. I had worked with Marty [Scorsese] on Gangs of New York, and I’d been toting around a book on Howard Hughes for ten years.”
Providing further background on the project, he added, “I almost did it with Michael Mann, but there was a conflict and I ended up bringing it to Marty. I was thirty. It was the first time as an actor I got to feel implicitly part of the production, rather than just an actor hired to play a role.”
Expanding on how this made him feel like more than just an actor, DiCaprio said: “I felt responsible in a whole new way. I’ve always felt proud and connected to that film as such a key part of my growing up in this industry and taking on a role of a real collaborator for the first time.”
DiCaprio’s new movie with Anderson marks the first collaboration of their career. However, in the same conversation, DiCaprio revealed that rejecting the opportunity to team up with the director in 1997 on Boogie Nights remains his “biggest regret“.
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