‘It’s About Trying To Be In Films That Are Memorable’
Leonardo DiCaprio received his sixth leading actor Oscar nomination for his performance in the American masterpiece One Battle After Another, in which he played the overwhelmed single father and confused revolutionary Bob Ferguson.
Ten years after winning best actor for The Revenant, this statistic puts him in a rare group that includes Daniel Day-Lewis. She is among a group of eight actors, male and female, who have now reached this milestone, including a supporting nomination for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Overall, The Wolf of Wall Street has eight nominations to its name, including the best picture nod.
But the most important thing for DiCaprio, who told The Associated Press by phone Thursday morning, is not the accolades but being part of a movie as timeless as “One War Then Another.” DiCaprio said, “I love what I do. At the end of the day, what’s important is being in memorable movies. This is a great contribution for your colleagues to recognize that, too.”
In Bob Ferguson, DiCaprio got one of the biggest roles of his already illustrious career. It’s a performance that’s not easy to describe, but one that highlights her mastery of her craft to maximum effect, allowing her to be funny, emotional, heartfelt, and deeply original, whether she’s yelling because she can’t remember the password, reciting her daughter’s friend’s act of rebellion, or even wordlessly staring at Sean Penn’s nemesis Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw with all the fear in the world for her daughter in her eyes.
“This is amazing,” DiCaprio said. “A film like this, a film that’s been given so much thought over 20 years in the mind of Paul Thomas Anderson, a film that’s so current and current, a film that I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many of my heroes, a director who is my hero?…To be able to promote it and talk about it just flows freely off my tongue. It’s a work of art that you’re proud of, and I couldn’t be more proud to be in it.”
It’s a film he hopes audiences will revisit again and again, finding new interpretations, new perspectives, characters and intentions. The film received 13 nominations overall; It finished second to Sinners, including nominations for best picture, best director, and supporting actor for Benicio Del Toro and Penn.
But one of the biggest snubs of the day was DiCaprio’s co-star Chase Infiniti; She was an integral part of the film as her daughter Willa, who was not nominated for leading actress. DiCaprio said he had just spoken to him and that he had an “incredible attitude” about it. DiCaprio said, “He was the fabric of this movie. He was its heart and soul. Without his performance, there would be no ‘One Battle in a Row’.” “It was an almost impossible task for a young actor coming in to take on a role that was his first film and carrying all the emotional weight of this film. He should be very proud of himself and we are all very proud of him.”
“For me, it’s about great ideas and original filmmaking. There’s nothing better than the theatrical experience that draws you in and makes the rest of the world disappear and makes you feel like you’re part of something else, something bigger, something different. That’s the magic of movies. So I think it’s our greatest art form, and I hope the theatrical experience stays alive, but that depends on the audience and their appreciation of that art form,” DiCaprio said.
