Leonardo DiCaprio reflects on turning 50 and feeling as though he is still 32

Rhyl Journal

2 days ago

The Los Angeles-born A-lister, known for his roles in Titanic, The Wolf Of Wall Street and Romeo And Juliet, celebrated his milestone birthday in November.
In conversation with US filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson for men's magazine Esquire, DiCaprio said he feels 32 in response to Anderson asking him how old he feels, imagining he does not know his actual age.
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'You're going to answer as quickly as you can. If you didn't know how old you are, how old are you right now?' Anderson asked.
Responding to Anderson's question on whether now is 'a natural time for reflection' after turning 50, DiCaprio said: 'Well, it creates a feeling like you have a desire to just be more honest and not waste your time.
'I can only imagine how the next few decades are going to progress. I look at my mother, for example, and she just says exactly what she thinks and wastes no time. She spends no time trying to fake it.'
He added: 'Being more upfront and risking having things fall apart or risk the disagreements or risk going your separate ways from any type of relationship in life — the personal, professional — it's that you just don't want to waste your time any more.
'You have to just be much more upfront. It's almost a responsibility because much more of your life is behind you than it is ahead of you.'
DiCaprio stars in Anderson's new film, One Battle After Another, an action thriller which sees a group of ex-revolutionaries reunite to save the daughter of DiCaprio's character.
Asked how he avoids getting the 'blues' after filming, he said: 'I think I'm good at it because I take a lot of time off between films.
'I do things more sparingly, which means you're anxious to get back to your real life once you've finished filming.
'Life goes on hold when you're filming. Everything stops and gets put on the back burner in your real life.
'I might be more concerned if I worked too much. To go from film to film, I would be scared about: what do I have to come back to? I'm very fortunate for that.'
DiCaprio made his film debut in 1991 and has since won a slew of awards including an Oscar and Bafta for his role in 2015's The Revenant.
Reflecting on his career, the US actor added: 'I rarely watch any of my films, but if I'm being honest, there is one that I've watched more than others. It's The Aviator. 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 10 years.
'I almost did it with Michael Mann, but there was a conflict and I ended up bringing it to Marty. I was 30. 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.'
Read the full interview in Esquire UK's Autumn issue, out August 14.