Body of Lies - Leonardo DiCaprio interview

LEONARDO DiCaprio talks about working with Ridley Scott on CIA thriller Body of Lies, preparing for torture scenes, gaining access to the CIA and being reunited with Russell Crowe for the first time since The Quick & The Dead. He also reveals how he’s been coping with his celebrity status and what it was like being reunited with Kate Winslet on screen for the first time since Titanic for the forthcoming Sam Mendes movie Revolutionary Road. The interview took place during a round table of about eight journalists.

Q. Was Body of Lies a particularly tough shoot?
Leonardo DiCaprio: Yeah, it was exhausting. It’s up there, maybe in the top two. [Titanic] was tough too. It was mainly… I loved Morocco, I loved the people there but after Blood Diamond where I was away for six months, so… the pace of a Ridley Scott movie is really intense. I ended up loving the whole process, because unlike most directors, he really truly knows what he wants to put up on screen. And he trims so much of the fat out of the filmmaking process. He’s so instinctive and the pace that he keeps up is so intense, it takes a little while to get adjusted to. But it makes you really trust yourself instinctually as an actor because he really trusts you to be in entire control of your character no matter what elements he throws at you. He’s able to manipulate dozens of cameras at the same time. He knows exactly the sequence that he’s going to fit into a movie. I’ve never seen anybody who’s so efficient at making a movie.

Q. Even Martin Scorsese?
Leonardo DiCaprio: I use the word efficient because I think that, much like Scorsese who is also a master of filmmaking, but Ridley can manipulate seven different angles. It’s not that Marty couldn’t do that, but his style is much more singular. He concentrates on one shot at a time most of the time. Ridley has developed a very unique style in that way – unique to any director I’ve ever worked with.

Q. During the torture scene were you actually attached to the table at any point? Did Ridley make it tough?
Leonardo DiCaprio: Well, that scene really was what I like to call the interrogation scene. That was one of the most pivotal scenes for me to try to wrap my head around and I put a lot of thought and a lot of effort into that specific scene because I knew the weight of that scene, what it meant to the movie, and if that wasn’t believable or authentic, then the film wouldn’t have the same sort of realism. It had to be scary and authentic enough.

So, I actually went and called the ex-CIA members and the ex-head of the CIA just to talk about what an American would do in a situation like that – what would he reveal? Would be be thinking about his country? Would he be trying to divulge information to survive? Would he be trying to extract information? It was three days in a tomb in Morocco and that was the hardest scene in the movie, of course, because of the emotion that comes with a horrific situation like that. There was also so much build up to that scene. I was strapped up to a wooden table for hours and hours with my hands wired to it. There was enough stuff to freak me out.

Q. Did you meet anyone like Roger Ferris during the course of your research?
Leonardo DiCaprio: I got to speak on the phone with someone. But I got most of my research from David Ignatius, who really was like an agent. I spent a lot of time with him in Washington. It’s interesting because you do stick out like a sore thumb if you’re an American and you’re operating a territory like that. But what they basically did was dye their hair black and try to look as close to the man on the street as possible. But at the same time they knew they could be targeted at any moment as agents. David Ignatius really is a pre-eminent expert in what it’s like for agents out in the field. He drew a lot of what’s in his novel not only from his inter-actions with other agents, but the head of Jordanian intelligence. All of these stories came from real active events. So, he was really pivotal for me and he introduced me to some people. The big hit that I got to was the ex head of the CIA himself and being able to talk to him at length was pretty incredible.

Q. It’s been a long time since you worked with Russell Crowe on The Quick & The Dead. Was that strange coming back to work with him after so long?
Leonardo DiCaprio: Russell is just one of the best actors in the industry right now. He’s really made some unforgettable, powerful films. I worked with him when I was 18 on The Quick & The Dead. He’d just done Romper Stomper; I’d just done [What’s Eating] Gilbert Grape, so there we were on set, two young actors sandwiched between these older character actors… and then you had Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman at the other end of the spectrum. So, we kind of forged a little friendship there. We’d only seen each other perhaps twice since then but I remember the type of guy he was back then, and the type of committed actor he was back then, as well as the type of sense of humour, and he’s the same guy that he was. I loved working with him and I’d do it again any time.

Q. What’s it like watching Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe working together?
Leonardo DiCaprio: They had what you call a short-hand. People use that a lot with actors and directors who consistently work together but they really, really do. I mean it’s almost like they’ve developed it into a wink. All of a sudden two or three pages are cut out of a sequence and you’ve changed locations. I’d be like: “OK, can I catch up to speed on those mumbles you’ve just exchanged?” But they trust each other so implicitly and are so honest with each other. They’re not afraid to be honest with each other. At first, you have to adjust to that. But I think I did pretty well and after a couple of weeks I was kind of doing the same mumbles with Ridley.

Q. How do you think things are going for you now professionally and personally? Are you more settled in your personal life?
Leonardo DiCaprio: I suppose. I think that it’s all a question that’s asked, but I feel relatively… it’s really strange being in this industry because a lot of your life is put on hold when you go make these movies… like everything, personal relationships and all that stuff is sort of put on ice while you go off to your location for five or six months. So, do I feel more settled in my life and in my work? Absolutely, yeah.

Q. Coming to your next film, Revolutionary Road, how has Kate Winslet changed and developed since you last worked with her?
Leonardo DiCaprio: It’s more like how hasn’t she changed. She’s always been the consummate professional on set. She’s a detective in the way she researches her character. She’s committed, professional and one of the most talented actresses in the business right now. She also happens to be one of my close friends who I goof off with like crazy. It was a reunion of two people who, I guess, are a little bit older, a tiny bit wiser but ultimately were the same as they were when they were 21.

Q. Did you reminisce a lot about what’s happened over the 12 years since you made Titanic?
Leonardo DiCaprio: We tell stories and laugh hysterically about it. We reminisce, of course, but we’ve consistently been friends since then… we’ve seen each other a lot.

Q. How did the dynamic work on set given this time given the relationship Kate has with director, Sam Mendes [her husband]? Did you find it at all strange?
Leonardo DiCaprio: I didn’t find it strange at all, I found it like a family type atmosphere, I really did. Sam was very conscious to let us form our own little clique on set and form this relationship of a very close-knit couple.

Q. What’s the weirdest place you’ve been recognised by someone?
Leonardo DiCaprio: In Brazil in the middle of the rainforest where a naked gentleman recognised me from Titanic. That was bizarre, because there was no television around. So, that was one of the most surreal moments. This was years ago.