Leonardo DiCaprio Opens Up: Why Directing Is Off the Table

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I was really interested to hear Leonardo DiCaprio talk about why he doesn’t want to direct movies, and it all comes down to Martin Scorsese! He shared this during a chat with Scorsese himself at a TIME magazine event in New York recently. Apparently, Scorsese has set the bar so incredibly high that Leo feels he wouldn’t be able to reach it, so he’s happy sticking to acting.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese have collaborated on six movies, and DiCaprio feels he could never reach Scorsese’s level of skill as a director. He stated, “People have asked me if I’d ever want to direct, but I wouldn’t. I could never create anything comparable to what Martin Scorsese does, so there’s no point in trying.”

Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t have plans to become a director, but he regrets not observing the filmmaking process more closely when he was acting in previous films. He explained, “When you’re portraying a character, you really try to understand them deeply. I wish I had spent more time watching what directors, like Scorsese, do behind the scenes.”

The actor explained how he and Scorsese collaborate. They dedicate months to planning, talking through ideas, and challenging each other before they begin filming. He said their process often involves lengthy discussions and playing devil’s advocate to find the most interesting way to approach a scene, even if it’s not the most straightforward one.

DiCaprio explained that working on his current film has been a deeply valuable learning experience.

Leonardo DiCaprio considers working with Martin Scorsese a high point in his career. He explained that his father introduced him to Scorsese’s films when he was young, telling him that Scorsese was someone to aspire to work with if he pursued acting. DiCaprio said, “My father brought me to see Marty’s work…and said, ‘If there’s anyone you want to strive to work with…it’s with this gentleman.’ So I got to see Marty’s work very, very early on.”

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese began their working relationship with the 2002 film Gangs of New York. They’ve since collaborated on The Aviator, The Departed, and Killers of the Flower Moon. Currently, they are filming their seventh project together, What Happens at Night, which stars DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence and is based on a novel by Peter Cameron.

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2025-12-15 14:21