There are plenty of actors who don’t like watching their own movies, and Leonardo DiCaprio is one of them, but he makes an exception for Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. The Howard Hughes biopic was DiCaprio’s second collaboration with Scorsese after Gangs of New York, and it holds a special place in the actor’s heart.
“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 told Esquire. “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. I almost did it with Michael Mann, but there was a conflict and I ended up bringing it to Marty.“
DiCaprio continued, “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. 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.“
The Aviator was a big success, earning 11 nominations at the 77th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and DiCaprio’s first Oscar nom for Best Actor. The film portrays Hughes’ life from 1927 to 1947, during his triumphant rise as a successful film producer and aviation magnate, all while he grows more unstable due to his worsening obsessive–compulsive disorder. It’s been a while since I last checked this one out; maybe it’s due for a rewatch.
DiCaprio will next be seen starring in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s One Battle After Another. The film, which is said to be loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, finds DiCaprio playing Bob Ferguson, an ex-revolutionary who sets out to rescue his daughter when an evil enemy resurfaces years later. The film also stars Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Tayana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, Wood Harris, and Alana Haim. It’s set to be released on September 26.
Which Leonardo DiCaprio movie have you rewatched more than any other?
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