How Does Leonardo DiCaprio Let a Director Know He Wants to Work Together?

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. If he signs on to a movie, you can bet that it's getting made.

But over the course of his career, he has some regrets, namely not starring in a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, so when it came time to right that wrong, he wasn't going to let another one slip through his fingers.

This month, we'll get his first PTA team up for One Battle After Another.

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So, how does DiCaprio always find himself working with some of the greatest directors working today?

He told The Hollywood Reporter, “Luck, and I guess the perseverance of just letting them know that you want to work with them, someday when the time is right."

It turns out, when DiCaprio wants to work with you, he picks up the phone and tells you.

He expanded on this idea, saying, “That’s what I’ve been doing; that’s how I met Marty [Scorsese] when I was young, I just let him know that if he’s ready, I’m ready,” DiCaprio continued. “I really love film as an art form; I love watching old movies, I’m a cinephile, and it’s like those rare films rise to the top. There’s certain filmmakers that have a multitude of those films — Paul is one of them, Quentin [Tarantino] is one of them, Marty’s one of them. So I just let them know I’m ready and I’m game if they are.”

That kind of action is really admirable. It's not relying on agents or even luck, as he said, but making your own luck by telling artists you want to collaborate. And look, DiCaprio has the power and the draw to do that.

When it came to the recent movie with PTA, he expanded on what it's like working with these people whom you genuinely admire.

“Any time that he asks, you work with PTA. This guy is like one of the great visionary filmmakers of my generation,” DiCaprio said. “His films, I’m still intrigued by to this day; I still talk about The Master, Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia — these films that are going to last for generations to come, so you jump at an opportunity to work with Paul.”

All of this makes me even more excited for One Battle After Another and encourages me to see DiCaprio acknowledge his importance as an actor and embrace working with people who want to make essential movies that need his star power to be produced.

If you want great movies to happen, you really need a lot of luck and an amazing script, but the current version of Hollywood is all about packaging. And there is no bigger actor to add to your project than DiCaprio.

I hope he wins another Oscar and continues to help advance the visions of fellow artists.

Let me know what you think in the comments.