The actor who clashed on-set with Leonardo DiCaprio: “There’s a kind of unhealthy friction”
A bit of healthy competition is sometimes the best thing to push the creative process, with many filmmakers and actors sharing experiences in which some friction with a co-star enhanced their performance, with the act of comparison having a strangely positive effect on their work. Whether it be the competitive streak between Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson, who both rose to acclaim at a similar time and have similarly devoted fanbases, with both often running against each other at awards shows.
However, this can become slightly more burdensome for some actors, with Leonardo DiCaprio describing the fraught production of The Great Gatsby due to his work with one co-star in particular.
Baz Luhrmann coined the phrase “Red Curtain” to describe the visual style of his films, merging the language of the theatre to create a vibrant and heightened look. The director often puts a modern twist on classic tales, rising to global acclaim with Moulin Rouge and becoming known for his subsequent adaptations of Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby. After beginning his career by frequently collaborating with Nicole Kidman, he later worked with stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Austin Butler and Claire Danes, with his cast not always gelling together in the most harmonious way.
The 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby offered a glittering and explosive retelling of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, blending the flapper-girl glamour of the roaring twenties with a modern pop-infused soundtrack featuring artists like Lana Del Rey and Kanye West. Luhrmann masterfully crafted a unique atmosphere of melancholy and madness, capturing the bittersweet essence of doomed romance and the desperate, often delusional, pursuit of fulfilment.
With a cast comprising Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton, it seemed like the perfect ensemble to realise the beloved story. However, there were many rumours about the alleged feud between DiCaprio and Edgerton, with both actors attempting to minimise this by attributing this conflict to healthy competition.
DiCaprio later described this creative tension, saying, “For me, Tom is a beast that has to exist on set, and it’s in me, and it comes out of me, and I enjoy it”.
Edgerton also shared a similar sentiment, saying, “There’s a kind of unhealthy friction that exists between Leo and I on set. It’s like when I got to work on A Streetcar Named Desire with Cate Blanchett. Rather than being fearful, I was like: ‘How am I going to step up?’ It makes you want to present at the same level,’ Edgerton said on his own competitive streak”.
While this could be interpreted as a veiled way of masking mutual dislike, it’s equally possible that both actors were genuinely challenged by each other’s presence, pushing them to elevate their performances and match each other’s on-screen intensity. Though potentially uncomfortable, this dynamic added perfectly to the tension between their characters in the film, as both men vied for the same woman’s affection and ultimately failed miserably.
