Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed that he has no plans to transition to directing in the near future.
During a conversation with acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese at TIME magazine’s A Year in TIME event, DiCaprio expressed that he lacks the desire to direct, primarily because he feels he could never reach Scorsese’s level of greatness. “Some people have asked me if I wanted to direct. I’m like, ‘I would never want to direct. I could never do anything close to what Martin Scorsese does. Why would I do that?’” he stated.
The One Battle After Another star mentioned that he sometimes wishes he had taken a step back during past films to fully observe the filmmaking process. “You play these characters, you try to get into the depth of their soul as much as you possibly can. And I would’ve loved to be much more of a voyeur … to watch what you (Scorsese) do behind the camera,” he admitted.
Looking back, he expressed a desire to have observed the behind-the-scenes process in greater detail. DiCaprio, who has collaborated on six films with Scorsese to date, described their unique creative dynamic, emphasizing the months of preparation and discussion that precede shooting.
“That’s been our process a lot, I think, working together … the ability to almost have a debate for months before and lots of questions, and lots of playing devil’s advocate about a way to approach things that may not be the most obvious direction,” he shared. He added, “We’re doing that on the new film that we’re doing now, but it’s been absolutely one of the most profound learning experiences.”
Working with Scorsese has been one of the “proudest moments” of DiCaprio’s career. “I grew up watching movies very young — wanting to be an actor. My father brought me to see Marty’s work, along with Mr. (Robert) De Niro’s, and said, ‘If there’s anyone you want to strive to work with in your career, now that you have the capability of doing movies, it’s with this gentleman.’ So I got to see Marty’s work very, very early on,” he reflected.
DiCaprio and Scorsese first teamed up for the 2002 film Gangs of New York. Their subsequent collaborations include notable films like The Aviator, The Departed, and Killers of the Flower Moon. Currently, the pair is working on their seventh movie, What Happens at Night, in which DiCaprio stars opposite Jennifer Lawrence, adapting a Peter Cameron novel.